Kagerou Days
by Rietto
Summary: Interpretation to the songs. May differ from novel, manga, and/or Jin's mind. Transferred from Vocaloid section.
1. Kagerou Days

Haven't read the novel. Don't know the real story. But I use the names of the real charas... Hibiya and Hiyori from Kagerou Days. Probably different with the real story. So... Yeah... Despite the names it goes to Vocaloid section. This is my interpretation to the song, and I don't like how I write the ending. Anon approved it though...

Well... please give me your opinion.

On to the story.

* * *

Hibiya

* * *

It was around twelve-thirty according to the numbers on the iPhone.

Hibiya looked up to the cloudless summer sky and grumbled a bit as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. He was sitting on one of the swings in the park, and next to him was his childhood friend petting a cat.

"... Why did you bring him here again?"

"Poor Neko-chan is lonely at home, that's why! Aren't you, Neko-chan? Aren't you? Hehehe, Neko-chan, you're so cute!"

The brunette sighed as he put his iPhone onto his pocket.

He wondered why he bothered asking.

It was Hiyori, after all. She's so clumsy, and ditzy, and childish... she'd do anything without second thought, and for the silliest reason too. Normally at school, Hibiya couldn't stand being near the overly cheerful girl.

But even so, she's the person closest to him, and everyone knew.

That's why that day on August 15, he decided to spend his day on the park with Hiyori.

"Hey, Hibiya. You've done your homework, right? Let me copy yours later okay?"

"... No. I'll help, but do it yourself."

"You're so stingy! Come on. At least the math?"

"No."

"Meanie."

"You shouldn't spend your holiday playing all the time, Hiyori. Do your homework yourself like all students."

The girl pouted.

"It's not like I've done nothing but playing..."

"Please... It's your favorite time of the year. I've known you for years now, Hiyori. You love to play under the sun the most."

Hiyori didn't respond for a while, and when she did the answer surprised Hibiya a bit.

"... I hate summer."

Hibiya thought he knew Hiyori the most.

He looked to his side, and Hiyori's face looked almost as if he had said something terribly bad about herself. Feeling a bit bad, he was about to apologized when Hiyori suddenly laughed out loud and said that she was just messing with him.

Hibiya didn't have time to get mad as the cat on Hiyori lap jumped out of surprise from her earlier outburst and ran towards the park gate. Hiyori ran after it immediately.

He planned to wait for her at first, but finally decided to follow after her. After all, it was Hiyori. She's so prone to accidents due to her clumsiness.

The cat had crossed the street, and Hiyori was running after it.

The light was blinking, it will soon turn into red.

Realizing that, Hibiya started to run.

"Hiyori! Don't cross!"

She stopped on the middle of the zebra-crossing, her body turned a bit towards Hibiya who was still quite far away from her. She was probably wanted to answer to his words, to say that nothing would happen even if she's few seconds late from crossing.

But alas, she couldn't.

When the light turned red split of second later, Hibiya couldn't see any colour other than red.

The sound of cicadas that he hated so much was for a very long second being drowned by the screaming of someone and the screeching sound of brakes from a truck that had appeared out of nowhere.

He stopped his legs from running and for a while he couldn't bring himself to take a breath.

Another second passed and he realized that the screaming voice he's hearing was his own voice.

He raised his hands to stop himself from screaming, and realized that he's being drenched in warm liquid which stench made him choke. When he realized that it was Hiyori's blood, he wished that it all was just a lie.

It was then when he first saw him.

A white haired boy (he sure looked childish enough despite his tall stature) with weird pattern tattooed on his cheek, staring at him and Hiyori's red unmoving body with dull red eyes.

Hibiya could hear the boy muttered "it's not a lie" as if he could read his mind before blacking out.

Before he lost consciousness, Hibiya was sure he heard him laughing.

* * *

When he woke up, Hibiya was still on his bed and he could only see darkness from the window. It was midnight, he realized after looking at the clock on his iPhone screen. It was the time between two days, and on his dazed state Hibiya wasn't sure what date it was.

"... I hate summer."

Hibiya already forgot what happened after he woke up, but Hiyori's words made him remember the events he saw before he woke up, the events he was sure happened in his dream.

Hiyori laughed after few moments of silent, surprising the cat on her lap which jumped and run towards the crossing. She ran after it immediately.

On the dream, he failed to stop her and she ended up getting hit by a truck.

Hibiya somehow could smell the stench of her blood and it made him so scared, he started sweating bullets.

He ran after her without second thoughts and managed to stop her.

Hiyori turned and apparently was about to scream in a rage at him, demanding why he stopped her from chasing her cat, but the sight of Hibiya sighing in relief, his face pale and sweaty as if he was sick stopped her.

"... Hibiya?"

"Let's go home."

"But... my cat..."

"I'll look for it later. Come on. I'm feeling bad."

Convinced that he was sick, she nodded and followed Hibiya to other side of the park. She knew that Hibiya was taking the long way towards their houses, but she didn't complain.

Hibiya was in a state where he couldn't be told what to do.

He couldn't even hear the voices of people around them, pointing their hands upwards as the machine Hiyori couldn't name on top of a skyscraper moved oddly.

Looking up, Hiyori could see metal poles falling towards the earth with frightening speed.

That's why...

Because Hibiya couldn't see that...

Hiyori tried to stop him by stopping right in front of him.

The boy looked confusedly at her face for a second, questioning the purpose of her doing, before the world was painted in red once more.

In front of him, Hiyori had been pierced by a pole.

And it was all his fault.

A heartbeat later, the sound of the poles hitting the ground like broken wind-chimes and the screams of the people around him drowned anything that could have been said by Hiyori.

Hibiya just stood there in a daze, drenched in warm liquid that's most certainly Hiyori's blood. The stench was as sickening as he remembered. On the ground, Hiyori muttered some inaudible words before stopped moving.

Hibiya was sure she was laughing a bit.

All in all, it was just like a nightmare.

"... no... Hi... Hiyori..."

Hibiya crouched down and with his trembling hand he took Hiyori's still warm hand. There was no pulse. Of course. The pole had pierced through her chest, and everyone knew that there was no way the small girl could survive. They all marveled at the unusual cause of death, none even care enough to call the ambulance.

"Some... Someone! Help Hiyori! Please!"

He started to scream at them, begging them to at least try to bring back her soul. His eyes were scanning the crowd as he desperately looked for someone who seemed care enough when he saw him once more, and his eyes widened.

It was a white haired young boy, his tall stature and weird style made him stand out in the crowd. He was looking down to him, again with his dull red eyes.

_'… It's not a dream.'_

Hibiya was sure he said that, despite the people's jumbled voices which made even his own screams hard to hear.

He wanted to ask him what he meant, but suddenly he felt his energy drained from him. The sensation brought him nausea and headache, and Hibiya could sense his consciousness slipping away.

He realized that he's about to pass out, just like in the dream. He closed his eyes, embracing the sensation as he vowed that if in the off-chance that it's all just a dream, he'd prevent Hiyori's death at all cost.

Just like before, the last thing he heard was the boy's laughing voice.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Hibiya found himself on his bed. Without looking at the clock, he knew it was midnight when the day had just turned into August 15, the darkness outside the window and the annoying sound of cicadas were enough as clues.

The white haired boy's words echoed on his head.

"... It's not... a dream..."

He couldn't go back to sleep like the day before.

He somehow knew that in twelve hours and thirty or so minutes, Hiyori would die, and if he fail to keep her alive, he'd repeat the day once more. They say after all, never two without three. He didn't want to check it, of course, but somehow he didn't doubt it.

More than anything, he feared for Hiyori's death.

She's been with him forever, and Hibiya was admittedly glad the day repeated before he could experience living without her. He didn't want to live in the world without her.

Hiyori was his... precious person. She's his best friend, although sometimes he thought of her as more than that. She was the one who brought light to his dull life... Without her, he wouldn't know what to do.

As soon as the sun rose, he rushed to Hiyori's house.

"... Uhm, Hibiya? What are you doing in my front door this early in the morning? Mom nearly called the police. She thought I'm being stalked by a bully."

Hiyori came out about an hour later at 7, holding her black cat.

"Go out with me."

Hearing his words, her face turned pale for few long seconds before her cheeks turned red.

"E... eh? I'm sorry, Hibiya, I think I misheard you. Can you please repeat what you just-"

"Accompany me this whole day."

Hearing his new sentence made Hiyori sighed and muttered something along the line of 'I should have known'. Hibiya would not suddenly gain interest in romance.

Not her overly serious geeky Hibiya.

Even so, in the end she smiled and nodded, even though Hibiya wondered if she's reluctant about it. Her eyebrows were furrowed a bit.

"... I'll treat you ice-cream later. Thanks, Hiyori."

"No prob. So, how about going to the park?"

"NO!"

Hibiya didn't know how he looked in her eyes. Hiyori looked so frightened, it was as if she had just seen a ghost. Her Neko-chan screeched at him. Hibiya took a step back.

He... must had been scary. Hiyori couldn't have known about the accidents that could kill her if she went to the park.

He took a deep breath and he felt a bit calmer.

"... I'm sorry. I... I'm just not in the mood for the park right now..."

"Oh... I see... So, where do you want to go?"

"It's summer after all. How about we go to the pool or something?"

She looked at him worriedly for a second before nodding. Hibiya then told her when and where to meet, and suddenly it felt as if his burden had just been lifted.

Hibiya somehow felt as if this time everything would turn out okay.

He hadn't realized how wrong he was.

This event in the morning was about to be repeated for hundreds of times.

* * *

When they went to the pool, Hiyori drowned.

When they went to the skating rink, Hiyori fell and got her neck cut by another skater's shoes.

When they went to the mall, Hiyori fell from the top floor.

When they went to the zoo, Hiyori somehow fell down to the hyena den.

When they went to the hill, Hiyori tripped and her head hit a rock.

When they went to the beach, Hiyori got drifted away and found in the end dead.

When he took her to a restaurant, Hiyori somehow got poisoned and died.

When he decided to keep her at home, Hiyori fell down the stairs.

When he decided to keep her away from second floor, Hiyori tripped when she's preparing his snack and ended up with a knife on her chest.

When he took her to his house, Hiyori got electrocuted when she's playing games with Hibiya.

When he decided to not meet up with Hiyori at all, at noon his parents would tell him that she's dead and he repeated the day after seeing her already cold body without knowing why she died.

There were many cases, Hibiya admittedly couldn't mention them all. It was as if a death god was following her around.

But in each and every cases, he remembered two things in common, Hiyori's dead body in front of him and the sound of laughter he's sure to come from the white haired boy.

After a while, he started to wonder if the boy was the death god.

August 15 had repeated so many times, Hibiya had lost count. It felt like years already passed. Needless to say, he's tired. His still young mind couldn't stand the stress of repeating hell.

And... that's when he realized that he's been doing things wrongly.

That day, he let her choose any place she wanted, and as expected she picked the park. He just watched as she played with her cat, laughing happily for the silliest reason like always. When he realized it, Hibiya found himself in the same situation as it was in the past.

He ran after her, and saw from the corner of his eyes the same white haired boy standing near the gate. In front of him, the green light blinked, signaling that it'd turn red in a second. Hibiya knew that a truck would come and slammed into Hiyori's body. If the white haired boy was really a death god, he'd surely say that Hiyori's destined to die at that time and day.

But he wouldn't let it happen.

Hibiya gritted his teeth and forced his legs to run faster. When she's within reach, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with all his strength.

He saw her stumbled, but away from danger and for some reason that moment felt so satisfying he couldn't help but to smile.

It was wrong to try to keep her away from death. What was right was to take her place.

Hibiya surrendered himself to gravity as what he did earlier led him to the middle of the zebra-crossing, and just as expected the truck slammed into his body.

A second could felt like a lifetime. It happened so fast yet so long for Hibiya. It was as if time didn't move at all. He saw Hiyori on the pavement, standing with weird position as she tried to keep herself from falling, staring confusedly at him. He could see her eyes widened in slow motion, even though in reality not a second had passed yet since he pulled her from the crossing.

Behind her was the white haired boy, his red eyes hidden under his bangs.

"... take that."

_'With this... Hiyori is saved... You can't take her...'_

Hibiya was sure the tall boy heard him, but his expression didn't change. Even so, at that time, the sound of laughter couldn't be heard. He just stood there, watching with half-closed eyes. Realizing that, Hibiya felt a sense of relief. If he laughed, then it'd be just like the usual summer days, and he'd have to repeat it once more.

True to his thought, the loop ended with Hiyori's survival.

Even so... for time to start moving again, it had to be paid with his life.

But, somehow Hibiya didn't regret it.


	2. Konoha's World State

I need to remind you that this is my interpretation of the song. This is a fanfic. If you want to know more about Konoha or the town, go read the novel! (even though I heard he got no narration in it... poor guy). Well, think of this as my gibberish lol. Ah, I want to read the novel so baaad... The manga is awesome.

* * *

Konoha

* * *

This is a back story of someone's tale.

To the scientists in that town, the most important thing was to find a way to lead its citizen towards perfect life. But, for some reason, the focus of their experiments was not to find a way to avoid possible disaster. It was to revert disaster should it come.

One of their ideas was that people would be able to overcome disaster if they knew beforehand what would come. Time-travel was researched. It bore fruit. They somehow found a way to stop time, and then they tried to find a way for the present to be connected to different timeline. Despite their effort, the scientists couldn't get further than going back to the past. Furthermore, the machine they created could not send anything but consciousness back in time.

Yes, in the end, what they could do was to send 'souls' of people back to their past self.

And... Konoha was created as the embodiment of the time machine.

Despite the so-called failure to find ways to reach the future, the scientists still believed that their idea was still reachable. And just like any other scientists, they decided to conduct on an experiment.

On August 15, an accident happened in the town, and a child died in result.

When the scientists heard out about this, they found the child to be perfect as experiment subject. To be exact, they wanted to see if her death could be reverted. There was a boy when it happened, and after a bit of investigation they found that the two children were close.

They were perfect.

The first thing Konoha saw was a man in white suit. Behind him was a wall with countless clocks, each hands moved with different pace. He couldn't make out what he said, or what expression he was showing, but Konoha somehow knew what he wanted him to do.

It was already inserted into his mind.

He was to bring a boy named Hibiya back to the past, and see if he can avoid Hiyori's death.

And so he did, over and over again.

His mind had calculated the chances over and over, and the result was always the same. Despite Hibiya's effort, Hiyori could never be saved.

_'So he failed once more...'_

_'How many time has we bring him back? There's no progress.'_

_'But just as predicted, he's trying. I'm glad we decided to test on him. Adults move on too quickly.'_

_'Hahaha. Youth is nice isn't it?'_

_'Let's see how long until he gives up.'_

Based on the scientists conversation, it appeared that the experiment would not be stopped despite the lack of progress, and once again Konoha repeated time for the boy.

At first, everything was the same like it always been.

Hibiya followed Hiyori to the park where they enjoyed their afternoon, and Hiyori's cat jumped from her hands. She followed the cat across the road, but she never made it.

The light turned when she was in the middle of the crossing, and on the next heartbeat...

Hibiya unexpectedly pulled Hiyori to safety, and after countless repetition, for the first time Hiyori survived.

_'Take that...'_

When the scientists realized this, they all panicked. It was as if the boy figured out their secret experiment, and mocked them for his success.

_'… it's dangerous to use him again.'_

Because the goal had been reached, the scientists decided to stop the experiment.

* * *

Even though the selfish humans had decided to do that, the truth was different than what was recorded in their report.

At first, Konoha was still half-asleep, if you chose to use human's term. He was just being born, with so many information on his mind still unprocessed. At that time, he was still like a computer processing every new data inserted into his mind, and wasn't really aware of what he was doing and his surrounding. It was like he was in trance. He did what he was programmed to do, and perhaps things would be better if only it stayed that way.

What woke him up was probably the loud screeching sound of a truck, its horn being blown so loud it drove all birds away, and loud sound of something getting hit by said truck and sent flying few meters away before landing with a sickening thud.

All he could hear after that was the annoying sound of cicadas and the scream of a young girl crying not far from him.

_'Hibiya!'_

In front of the girl was a young boy, Hibiya, laying on road, his whole body painted red by his own blood.

No, it wasn't just Hibiya who's painted red by blood.

The girl's exposed skin and clothing also had splotches of red, as well as the road, red lights (which just turned green once more) and truck that had just slammed into Hibiya's body.

The brunette had whispered "take that" before the truck hit him, and somehow Konoha knew it's directed at him.

When the girl started to run towards Hibiya, her hand outreached as far as she could just so that she could touch him faster, Konoha blinked and asked himself what just happened.

Why did the boy said that to him?

Konoha blinked once more, and realized that the world had stopped moving.

The girl with her outstretched hand was still. Even so, Konoha knew that it wasn't her standing still. It was the time that had stopped moving. He could see droplets of blood, sweat and tears in the midair, unmoving like coloured beads on top of glass panel.

He blinked once more, and he remembered his power and realized that it was him who stopped the time.

Even so, the scene was surreal, it's just like a dream.

"... Hibiya's... dream?"

He had watched Hibiya for a long time, and Konoha realized that unlike the scientists, the days that had passed were like dreams for Hibiya. It didn't really happen. If he could save Hiyori, then those days would surely be forgotten one day like other nightmares.

Konoha heard from his headphone that the experiment was to be exterminated, and Hibiya was to be left to die.

Hearing that, Konoha's usually dull eyes widened a bit.

For the first time since he was created, Konoha felt pain. It was as if viruses had invaded his system and made him think irrationally. He looked at the still smiling face of the dead boy and the girl who's screaming in silence. Despite the fact that the world was still frozen, Konoha somehow felt as if he could hear Hiyori's scream.

Hibiya would not wake up.

His nightmare had ended but as the result... from now on the one who'd live in endless nightmare would be Hiyori. No matter how many times she woke up on her bed, the fact would not change. Hibiya died protecting her, and she would have to live with that burden. In her simple mind, Konoha was sure the fact would become twisted like 'I killed Hibiya'.

"... would... Hibiya... liked that?"

It hadn't occurred to him why he questioned that.

After few moment of silence, Konoha decided to ignore what the scientists had decided. He cut off his connection with them, and repeated time once more.

What he needed was a 'consciousness' to be sent back, and even though he felt that Hibiya should be the one, he already lost his consciousness. With heavy steps he approached the girl, murmured an apology and activated the time machine.

* * *

When he realized it, the bloody scenery had disappeared.

Konoha closed his eyes, and when he opened them he knew that it was in the morning of August 15. After looking around the park, he found out that the two children hadn't come.

But he knew they would be.

He sat on a bench, and waited. Looking up, the sky was cloudless blue, and the sun shone so brightly. To the people who were laughing there at that park, it was a perfect day. Even so... Konoha looked down and felt the same pain like the time after he heard that the experiment was to be stopped.

How would Hibiya described the day? Even though usually he's able to find out the possible ending for the day, that day Konoha didn't feel like calculating the odds. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to admit that it's possible that most likely, it would end like most of the time with Hiyori's death.

There's a difference though, Konoha realized. This time, both Hibiya and Hiyori were aware of the bad ending waiting for them. Hibiya's memory was the same as last time, he had knowledge of various possible scenarios of Hiyori's death, so he surely would be able to do something. As for Hiyori, while there's a chance she's thinking of the past memory as mere dream like Hibiya at first, she'd surely be more careful.

A faint smile blossomed. Perhaps this time, both of them would end up okay. The pain disappeared when he thought that.

It was very...

_'… huh?'_

Something wrong had happened. Konoha felt his hands trembled at the realization. He had the two children occupying his mind for so long, that when he stopped thinking about them his mind went on to process other things, and more than anything it was terrifying.

Even though he had cut off connection to the scientists who created him, he's able to move independently even though he should only be able to move according to their program. Furthermore, he's doing things that's direct opposite of what he's told to do. It's like he has mind on his own. He had wish of his own, different from what his creators had.

Like a human...

Then if that's so, then the pain he felt earlier... was it humane?

"... You... don't bring your cat."

The familiar voice broke Konoha's trance. Hibiya was walking in front of him with Hiyori towards the playground. He noticed Konoha and gave him a death glare before focusing on Hiyori once more.

She laughed sheepishly.

"I had a nightmare last night. Neko-chan escaped! I'm a bit paranoid because of it, I think."

Hiyori remembered... He saw Hibiya widened his eyes in surprise a bit, and smiled.

Konoha sighed in relief.

He watched the two children head into the swings and couldn't help but to keep his eyes locked on their figures.

_'….noha... re... turn... the... city... now...'_

Voices of the ones who created him could be heard from his headphones. Even though he had cut off connection, his disappearance had caused panic and apparently they're trying hard to hack into his system. Konoha tried to block them, but he couldn't do much against them who knew everything about him.

This repetition was not authorized.

He would be stopped.

When Konoha realized that his hands were trembling, he wondered if it's because of a humane feeling that he could have gained or the scientists doing.

After that day, he would certainly be 'fixed'.

A pair of small hands found their ways to Konoha's shoulder and he jolted in shock. In front of him was Hibiya, looking as mad as he could be.

"This is the first time I see you not during the accident, and don't try to deny it. I know you're somehow connected to Hiyori's death. So, let's talk."

Hiyori had been left alone by the swings. She was playing with the stray cats there. Apparently because she was visible from the bench where Konoha sat, Hibiya dared to let her play alone.

"...? What do you want to talk about?"

Konoha spoke monotonously like always, but to Hibiya it might have sounded like mockery. His grip tightened, and if Konoha was a human he'd surely winced. It's amazing what power bottled up frustration could give to the small boy. Konoha had the appearance of an adult, but it didn't seem to cause any kind of hesitation in Hibiya's actions.

He's sure that if he gave him unsatisfactory answer, he wouldn't hesitate to tear him to pieces.

"Why you want Hiyori dead. Tell me the reason."

Konoha silently shook his head.

"I don't want her to die."

"Bull. You're always there when the accidents happen. Don't tell me it's not your doing."

"I was the one who send your consciousness back to your past self, but it wasn't me who kill her. Hiyori is prone to accidents caused by normally harmless things in this particular day. The reason why is unknown."

After the repetitions, Hibiya had no choice but to believe him. Some of Hiyori's cause of death had been silly, he'd laugh about it if it's really a bad dream.

"... I'm not human."

And then, after very long seconds, Hibiya laughed at Konoha's words. He let go of Konoha, and just laughed...

Konoha blinked confusedly. Hibiya's laughter was different from the others, but he couldn't name the difference.

"... To me, you're a Death God. I've known from the start."

Hibiya said as he smiled sadly. He didn't say anything after that, and just stared at Konoha's still expressionless face. Somehow, words just appeared on Konoha's mind. It's probably because Hibiya looked so tired, and the sight of it brought out the pain on his chest once again.

The humane feeling took over, and Konoha found himself speaking for the first time without being asked first.

"Hibiya... This is the last. I can't repeat it another time. You don't remember, but last time you were the one who died. You pushed Hiyori's out of the truck's way. This time I sent Hiyori back. She remembers, and I am sure you've realized that."

"How can't I? She's as easy to read as toddler's picture book."

Unlike usual, Hiyori was more careful of her surroundings. Frighteningly more careful. It was as if she felt like she's being watched. Hiyori even tried to use different ways to the park earlier, trying her best to avoid crossings at all.

The cat was the final clue.

Even so, Hibiya didn't know about him being dead on previous August 15. He didn't know how the white haired tall boy could turn back time, so he didn't question him about it. Besides, Hiyori's death occupied his mind.

"... I'm glad."

To Konoha's surprise, Hibiya said that before turning and left Konoha.

Konoha didn't understand.

He had realized that he's somehow becoming humane, with the pain and oddity, but he still couldn't understand people's thoughts. Even so, Konoha was sure that Hibiya cared about Hiyori, and despite his words earlier, he surely didn't mean it to sound bad. He's just frustrated.

_'Please... try to stay alive together...'_

The words appeared after Hibiya left, but Konoha didn't dare to approach the two children.

In the end, it's left unsaid.

* * *

Later on, the heat had become unbearable. From the sun, Konoha deducted that it's about twelve thirty.

A cat ran out to the gate, and Konoha smiled when he saw Hiyori sitting on the ground looking disappointed. She didn't chase after it. Hibiya looked relieved as well.

Hiyori then stood and after saying few words to Hibiya, the two of them walked together to the gate. When they're within hearing range of Konoha's ears, he found out the they're about to go to a restaurant to eat. Hibiya suggested a cafe in which Hiyori never had any incident in it before, and she agreed.

'… it's great...'

Konoha stood up, and decided to return to the facility. Whatever the scientists would do to him didn't matter anymore.

Or so he thought.

Approximately five minutes later, Konoha realized something as he accessed the town map on his mind, trying to find the longest route possible so he could enjoy his possibly last moment longer.

The cafe Hibiya was taking Hiyori... was located near a building that's still under construction.

And the pain returned.

He turned and ran as fast as he could.

He had to stop them.

He had to warn them.

He had to save them.

Various thoughts appeared as Konoha tried to find the possible route the children could have taken to get to the cafe. Every one of them passed the building, he realized, and Konoha forced his legs to move faster.

From his headphones, the sound he's trying to block earlier was becoming clearer and clearer. Soon, the scientists would pass his last line of defense. Despite his wish to run faster, he could feel his feet becoming a bit wobbly.

He's disappearing. He's being pulled away from his body. Konoha knew he wouldn't even have another minute. He wanted to use his ability, but he couldn't. As he ran, what he could do was only trying hard to at least kept control of his body, and even in that he's failing.

_'… no... no... NO... Please... Hibiya...'_

When Konoha finally found them, it was already too late.

"HIBIYA!"

He called out to him, but the one who turned around was Hiyori. She stared questioningly at him for a moment before Hibiya pushed her away.

From the sky, countless metal poles fell and the sound akin to wind chime echoed in the air.

Once again, the scenery was painted red.

A pole had pierced into Hibiya, and it's clear that he's going to die from it. Konoha calculated instantly that the moment he touched the ground, he'd die already.

And himself as well.

Konoha could no longer see the scenery.

Even though he felt he was running, he knew it wasn't true. He was already pulled back from his body. He's inside the scientists computer on the research facility on top of the hill, being scanned for any virus that could cause him to act independently like that.

Even so, he could still see Hibiya, and he kept on running. The image of him had been burned into his mind, and Konoha knew that it wouldn't disappear.

_'… I'm glad.'_

The pain was still there, and it hurt more than ever.

At that time, he finally understood what Hibiya meant.

He loved Hiyori.

He didn't want her to feel the pain of losing, and failing to save someone, over and over again.

Somehow, he could hear the boy's voice on his mind, as if the smile he had plastered on his face was enough to tell Konoha.

Hibiya was thinking the same thing as Konoha.

_'It doesn't matter if I'm gone. I'm after all replaceable...'_

"You're wrong, Hibiya!"

From that moment on... how would Hiyori continued to live? What thought would be inside her mind?

What Konoha feared had come true, and it was his fault.

He should have made him understand.

He should have followed them.

There were so many things Konoha regretted, his mind calculated what could happen if only he did those things. Finally he fell on his knees and just stared into Hibiya's dying image.

In the mechanized world, unexpectedly Konoha felt as if rain had fallen. Outside the 'body', his existence was probably like a soul even if its inside a machine.

Drip, drip, drip...

From his eyes, water continued to flow, but Konoha couldn't have known that he was crying.


	3. Headphone Actor 1

**The Demise of Enomoto Takane part 1  
**

**Something I thought of. Crossover of 'Kagerou Project' and 'Bookmark of Demise'.**

**A fanfic, may I remind you. Not related to the series at all. I hope it does though.  
**

**Well~ Since I used up 'Headphone Actor' too, then it's fine! It goes here! Oh, and the two chapters before this, think of them as fanfic please! It's not the story at all. Hiyori likes Konoha, and he likes triceratops! Hibiya just jealous! Hahahaha!  
**

* * *

Takane

* * *

It's so obvious he was lying that it's kind of pathetic.

Enomoto Takane's favorite radio show was interrupted by a weird announcement. Even so, the transmission was bad, the girl wondered if it's a prank from some unknown hacker.

_"I'm the president of a country in the middle of Atlantic Ocean a.k.a Atlantis, and regrettably, I'm here to announce that the world is ending."_

She stopped the game she was playing, her unfinished homework fell as she fell down herself. She knew that voice. The sleepiness in his voice was unique. No one else could deliver a line that silly without a laugh.

It could only be her friend, Konoha.

"Takane! Did you hear yesterday's radio program? The segment which is badly transmitted? It's Haruka-kun's voice right?!"

"Eh, so the voice also broadcasted through radio? I saw him yesterday on TV. He was wearing silly outfit, which reminds me of Vocaloid, but it has to be him! Although his hair was longer… but it could have been wig. I mean, it was white as snow!"

All of her friends confirmed it. It had to be him. Even so, when the whole class surrounded the poor sleepy boy, he only tilted his head in confusion.

His eyes met her, and Takane sighed. He was silently asking for help. He only gave her that look whenever he wanted something. As his childhood friend, Takane knew that look to well. They're so close they gave each other nicknames after all.

Although, the fact that both of their names were not satisfying helped.

Takane was too boyish for her taste, and Enomoto was a mouthful. When she complained about that, he offered the name Enemi, 'Beautiful Ene', in which she gladly accepted. It sounded cool, and there's a character for beauty in it. In return, she decided to call him Konoha, since Konose just plain weird, and Haruka is a name mostly meant for girls. He nodded in agreement. At least now he could be associated with ninjas.

"Alright, alright, guys. Leave the poor kid alone."

Looking at the twin-tailed girl approaching them, the members of the class groaned.

"We just want to know."

"I know. But look at him. Does he look like he even knows about it? He seems confused to me."

"He just seems sleepy to me."

"And you're hoping to get information from half-conscious man. Talk about impossibility. Right now what on his mind is probably a scene where triceratopses appear in Land Before Time."

"… actually… Jurassic Park…"

The boy said as he stifled a yawn, and the kids surrounding him took a step back in surprise. Realizing the truth in Takane's words, they all dispersed quietly. A girl Takane was with before she saved the boy giggled and mouthed something along the line of 'tell me all about it later'.

Takane had no idea she was talking about the broadcast yesterday or her relationship with Konose Haruka, but she wanted to talk about neither of the two topics, so Takane gritted her teeth and made a motion as if she was zipping her mouth shut.

"… Enemi… What happened yesterday?"

Haruka suddenly asked her as he stretched his body.

"Apparently your look alike appeared on TV, and the voice even broadcasted on radio. It was like someone hacked into all stations at once," Takane answered with a grin as she folded her hands.

"It wasn't me… "

"Sure, sure. It was your doppelganger. I get it, Konoha."

"…"

He narrowed his eyes. Somehow he knew that despite Takane's agreement to his statement, she wasn't thinking of the same thing as he did. It was as if (and he knew with 90% certainty it really was the case) she agreed to secrecy of the matter.

"You better be careful, Konoha. They say if you see your doppelganger, then you're going to die in three days," Takane said as she waggled her eyebrows.

"But… I didn't see it."

"I suppose. But what if you're going to die anyway?"

Takane winked and left the boy alone on his warm seat next to the window. His face showed his annoyance for few seconds before he yawned once more and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

It was two days since the broadcast.

"_The hacking into radio and TV stations two days ago and yesterday is still under investigation. Because the companies claimed that their system had experienced no malfunction, the tech analysts suspect insider's job. It's predicted that the hacking would repeat until the perpetrator's still unknown goal is achieved. The government…"_

Hearing the news, Takane felt a sense of relief. People seemed to think more about the broadcast itself more than who appeared in it. Her otaku friend said that it could be caused by the boy's clothing, in which no way could be called normal. She said his futuristic look probably caused the investigators to think of it as some silly recording of a cosplaying boy.

For the time being, Haruka would not be in trouble.

Even so, Takane was concerned. The day before, the same recording appeared once more, and approximately an hour after it Haruka came to her house and dragged her to his room, where he snapped. He used his triceratops plushie to muffle his scream of annoyance. Despite his usual 'my pace' attitude, he's really bothered by his situation. It was really out of character, Takane really thought for a second that he had lost it.

"… Uhm… Konoha? Are you okay?"

He turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed and teeth gritted.

"No, Takane. I am not okay. How can you even ask me that? I've only wanted to live in peace, and it's ruined because of somebody's prank! I had to turn off my cellphone because it was ringing nonstop because students from school all mailed me to ask me how I did it! I don't know! It wasn't me! But do they listen? No! Tomorrow they'll bombard me with more questions! The worst part is that even my best friend doesn't believe me!"

It's been years since he called her that way, and the fact that it was followed by his longest line yet made it clear to Takane that Haruka was really upset. That, and his never seen before angry face. But, he's not someone who could hold a grudge. His laid back nature prevented him from thinking too much. He looked so surprised at his own outburst and groaned as he buried his face to his plushie once more.

"… I'm sorry. I don't know what came into me."

"There's this one thing called stress."

"I'm sorry."

"No reason to be. A bit rage is healthy. Though warn me next time so I can prepare my heart."

"That bad?"

"Not bad, just unexpected. Putting that aside, since you're 'on the rage' right now, spill it all. Tell me what's bothering you and see if I can help you. I mean, that's why you dragged me here, right?"

He nodded dejectedly, seeming very ashamed of himself. Takane snickered as she pound him on the back, and the gesture managed to bring a slight smile to his face before his face turned serious once more.

"… Enemi, do you believe me?"

Hearing that question, Takane could only shrug.

"It's hard to tell. I mean, I know you, so I really don't think you did it. There are many ways to create that video, and the voice is even easier to make with today's technology, although not many can make that kind of video. I mean, if it's really made up, the effect is top class. Truthfully, even with proper investigation, no one can be sure if the video is really without any editing. As for the hacking thing… well, I suppose not many can pass the firewalls…"

Haruka tilted his head to the side, didn't really understood what Takane meant with her description. She closed her eyes and sighed, her love for technology can make her talk like there's no tomorrow. After a second of pausing, she decided to skip the explanation.

"The point is, I don't know if I really trust you or just underestimate you."

"… I see."

"Sorry I'm such a bad best friend."

"No… no. Of course you're the best. You're the only one who didn't ask more than once."

"Technically I didn't ask anything."

"You're the best."

He said it like he'd say general fact like 'sky is blue' and 'dinosaur rules'. Takane muttered 'thanks' and crossed her arms as she thinks. Technology had never been Haruka's specialty. Now that she thought about it, the chances of a mere high school student like him hacking into stations were slim. Hell, Takane herself couldn't be sure if she's able to do it.

"Though, I want to ask… Can you do it?"

Haruka's next question made her skip a beat.

"Video isn't my thing. Can't say the same about the voice though."

She noticed Haruka's grip on his plushie tightened, but his expression didn't change.

"How about the hacking thing?"

"Well, I'm not crazy enough to try."

Moreover, since the first broadcast, the stations surely had fixed their system. Even so, the hacking kept on happening as if the stations hadn't improved anything. The hacker surely had skills of a god.

"Did you do it?"

Takane looked straight to Haruka's eyes and shook her head. She had been expecting this.

"No. I didn't do it. I don't think I could. Even if I could, I would never do it."

"… because it's troublesome."

"Exactly. And pointless. But honestly, I don't think the hacker is alone in this. Hacking into one station is one thing, but all radio and TV stations in the area? It's impossible for one person."

Haruka didn't react over the last statement, but she's sure he knew the second meaning of it.

It's impossible for her to stop the hacker. She couldn't even be sure she could find the true hacker.

"Sorry, Konoha. I can't help you in stopping this. I'll help you at school though. I'll make sure no one bothers you tomorrow."

"… I trust you."

"No, you overestimate me. There's a difference."

He seemed disappointed, but that was it. Apparently he had accepted the fact that the hacker was probably on the level beyond an amateur like Takane, but decided to push his luck anyway. He even managed to smile bitterly.

"Sure. Tell yourself that."

After that, he took a deep breath and sighed. He's not satisfied, but obviously calmed down. He looked up to the ceiling and muttered something Takane couldn't hear. It seemed that he asked something to himself. She was about to inquire when he suddenly asked to walk her home.

There's something else he's worried about, but for some reason it's as if he thought of it as a silly thing not worth thinking about.

"… I wonder what he said."

She had hoped that he'd tell her when the whole situation was over, she didn't want to stressed him out even more. But sadly, there was no chance of that.

Haruka came to school late that day, apparently intentional in order to avoid his classmates' questions. The next chance for her to speak with him was during chemistry, when they're working as partners. She had a good time as usual talking about the silliest things to him, glaring the classmates who looked at Haruka curiously and seemed to be contemplating on questioning him every now and then, while doing her work.

"So, what next?"

"It's said here we must add this to here…"

The chemical solution produced smoke and they stared at it blankly. It's just a poof of smoke that disappeared quickly. There's no flame at all, and the smoke wasn't much either.

"… Well, that's totally unimpressive. I can't tell if we failed or not. Should we asked the teacher?"

Haruka just shook his head. None of them even sure about the purpose of the experiment, so they decided to just leave it be. It wouldn't affect their score that much anyway. Moreover the other pair's work had worse result than them. Most of them couldn't bring forth any reaction at all.

In the end Takane just sat on the stool and watched as Haruka wrote the report, humming a bit as she did so. It was a random song from her iPod that she had forgotten the title and singer, but apparently Haruka knew about it well. He smiled and hummed it along with her as he wrote.

Gradually, his humming was getting quieter until he stopped altogether. Takane noticed him sweating bullets and his breathing hardened. He held his chest with his free hand, as if he was in pain. Takane began to worry. He was fine just a minute ago.

"… Konoha? Hey, are you okay?"

Before Takane could even think of getting the teacher, he fell to the floor like a puppet with its string cut.


	4. Headphone Actor 2

**Wow, this is a long story. Okay, announcement. Konoha's name has been officially announced, and it's not Konose Haruka. It's Kokonose Haruka. Thing is I'm too lazy to change the previous chapters, so if there's any inconsistency blame my laziness. This will end in next part. Oh, and I guess this story is wrong. Ene and Konoha are names Takane and Haruka used in games. Haruka is an airhead, and so not like what I'm describing him. I can't stop thinking of the picture of him half-naked greeting Takane. Her face was priceless. No, this isn't a doujin. It's official material. I know. I'm surprised too.**

* * *

How half of the class ended up in the infirmary was a blur, and truthfully Takane couldn't care less. What's important was that she wanted to know Haruka's condition, and the person who could tell her that was checking him up.

After he's checked, the school nurse said he got heatstroke. Not life threatening, but still dangerous.

Because of that, she told her and everyone else who brought him to the infirmary to return to class, because she's asking a teacher to bring Haruka to hospital, and there's no need for them to come to the hospital too. Besides, the infirmary was filled with children with symptoms of summer cold, and it would be bad if they infected the healthy children. Even among the ones not in infirmary, coughing had became common since few days earlier. In fact, for some reason a lot of the students didn't go to school that day.

Takane reluctantly abide, the bad feeling she had had since when Haruka suddenly snapped becoming worse by the second. Her friends didn't help either. She could hear them talking among themselves if Haruka collapsed because the boy in the broadcast really wasn't him.

Perhaps it's his doppelganger and he's going to die, they said.

Takane clicked her tongue. Now they believed him.

But then again, it's understandable they thought of it. Haruka wasn't the type of person who'd faint just like that. Despite of the impression that he just lives for sleep, Haruka was an athlete. He knew how to take care of his body. For him to be careless like that…

_'… Is it really just the stress?'_

Takane never truly believe the myth of doppelganger, but the abnormality of Haruka's condition made her wonder. It's just two days. Was he really that weak against people? Haruka hated commotion, but he never had any problem with people in general. Rather, he's a kind and understanding person. That's why he cursed the hacker instead of the people who bothered him.

"Takane… I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about? It's not your fault. Kono… I mean, Haruka himself knew that."

Takane stopped for a bit. It's weird to refer him with his real name, but her friends didn't know about the nickname they assigned for each other. Now that Haruka's stressed out after being questioned endlessly about something he claimed he didn't do, Takane felt that telling her friends about the nickname would only make things worse.

If they knew, they'd surely pester him more. They have always loved gossip.

"But I pestered him… and now… he might be dying sooner than he should be!"

Takane rolled her eyes as she comforted her crying friend. In one way, she's right, but Haruka's condition was clearly caused by stress coming from the pestering. But the end that her friend thought of was probably not some kind of disease related to stress. It's probably being killed by a doppelganger.

How stupid.

"You pick the wrong person to apologize to. Go tell him yourself when he's awake."

"… Really? Can I do that?"

"I encourage you to do that. He'd be happy to know that now his classmates will leave him alone because that's the only good thing you can do besides saying 'I'll miss you, Haruka-kun! I wish you don't have to die tomorrow!'."

The girl flinched, her face reflected her guilt and fear, but after seeing Takane's smirk she puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

"Takane, you meanie! You know that's not what I meant!"

She said it as she punched Takane on her shoulder playfully.

"I do and I honestly don't know why you guys think so. Really, Haruka and I are just childhood friend."

It's been like that since long time ago. People often misunderstood and thought that she and Haruka were a couple. It couldn't be helped that they're very close.

"Childhood friend huh… that being said, you know everything about each other."

"True that."

"In my eyes you already look like a couple. Minus the lovey-dovey act."

"I think of him as a helpless brother, but I guess the difference of action isn't much."

"You're no fun… But I guess you're right. I should have said it to Haruka-kun directly. Can I go with you then? You are going to see him, right?"

"… no."

"Eh?"

Takane shook her head.

"Tell him 'You're an idiot' for me. I can't see him just yet."

After that she hastened her pace and entered the class alone. When she entered it, all pairs of eyes were on her, but Takane paid them no mind. She just went to her seat and took her bag.

"If the teacher ask, I'm leaving early."

She announced it loudly. Someone answered with a yelp, presumably the class president, but Takane wasn't sure of it.

The question asked by her friend echoed on her mind, and it's like being asked repeatedly. Even so, Takane found herself unable to change her decision.

She couldn't see him just yet.

_'I trust you…'_

She still thought that Haruka was overestimating him, but the boy was pretty convincing.

Find that hacker or lose me, it's as if he said that to her face.

"Curse you…"

How could she not try when it's like that?

"Curse you, Konoha…"

The thought of her hacking into dozens of local TV and radio stations made her tremble, and Takane put on her headphone to calm down her nerves. But, despite the fear, she was sure she was smiling.

Hacking was like going to another world.

She couldn't explain it clearly, but it really felt that way. In front of her was words said with numbers, something normal people wouldn't be able to understand. It's like magical runes. Invisible walls were set up to keep her out of her goal, but she kept on trying. Like a witch, she kept on casting new magic to break the firewall.

Takane laughed a bit at her own imagination. She couldn't bring herself to choose between using fantasy analogy or not. Haruka couldn't understand codes, so when he's curious of what she's doing, she'd tell him using fantasy analogy.

She'd be a witch, trying to conquer castle guarded by invisible burning wall.

The codes she'd try would be magic.

And the information she's after would be…

"The treasure… Damn it… Konoha, you picked the worst kind of treasure for me to get!"

The think she wanted was information on how the hacker could get into the system. Unfortunately, the only way to do that was to hack into the system herself. There's no other way. That's why she decided to skip school for the day. She wouldn't be able to concentrate with the thought lingering in her mind anyway.

That decision to leave school was the reason Takane could meet that person.

In a crossing, Takane saw her teacher driving away with Haruka on the passenger seat. Their eyes met but he didn't say anything at all. Her eyes were locked in the car even after it had disappeared in the corner.

"What's wrong with your friend, child? Is he okay?"

Takane nearly jumped from the surprise, and she was sure that her heart had skipped a beat.

Looking down, a girl who appeared to be a grade schooler was tilting her head to the side curiously even though Takane was sure that no one was in the area just a second before. If she wasn't so surprised, Takane would certainly scold the girl for calling her who was clearly older 'child'. Even so, the girl made her lost her senses. She couldn't tear her eyes from the girl's small figure. If there was danger alarm in her mind, then it would be ringing loudly, Takane had that kind of feeling but she didn't know why.

There must had been something strange with what she just said, Takane realized, and as she tried to find what that was, she answered her question unconsciously.

"… Ah… yeah… I think so…"

"Hm… I see. Today is really hot. Heatstroke is to be expected. Child, you need to be careful too. Perhaps you should lose the sweater."

The girl said it with a smirk.

"I'm fine…"

Seeing her gave Takane the creeps. There's something terribly wrong about her. She was clad in black, seeming to be more of a shadow than human, her face only half visible because of her long hair. Takane wondered if she was developing heatstroke too, because she was sure for a split second that the girl's hair slithered like snakes despite the lack of wind. After she rubbed her eyes, the hair stayed still though.

_'I better rehydrate myself…'_

The girl giggled, and took few steps back.

"That is good then. But really, you have to be careful, if you get too close to him he'll die. Actually, anyone who gets too close to him has chance to kill him. Poor children, I don't know there's so many of them like that. They're too young to die… Not that it will kill you, with your power, but still…"

She waved and started to walk away with light steps, like any other child having fun.

Takane didn't know why she stopped her, her hand was on the girl's shoulder before she knew what she was doing. The girl turned around and tilted her head, questioning her gesture.

She had found out what's strange with her first question.

"… How did you know?"

The girl's smirk resurfaced, and Takane knew that she understood what she meant completely.

She knew too much for a stranger.

At first she thought the girl knew about Haruka because of the uniform, but that's weird. To prevent him from getting worse, the nurse had took off his sweater and shirt. Haruka was wearing white t-shirt in that car. There's no way for a stranger to know that they're related. Also, from outside, Haruka only seemed like he was sleeping. She couldn't have known that he got heatstroke and fainted.

The last comment was even more suspicious.

"Hey, how did you know about him? And what do you mean about getting too close will kill him?!"

Even so, she didn't answer. The girl in black just giggled, her hair seemed to be slithering once more in Takane's eyes. For as split second, she was sure there were red sparks behind her bangs. When she realized it, Takane's hand had fallen down, the body that she had firmly pressed down had gone without a trace like she was never there in the first place.

But Takane was sure she was. She could still feel her warmth in her hand.

For few long minutes, she couldn't move. The alarm on her mind was still ringing, louder than ever.

Like any other townspeople, Takane was familiar with the legends unique to the town. The stories were similar to some famous urban legends, but there were differences. For example, when she looked up online, there was no mention of the importance of time or witness in the legend of doppelganger. The witness doesn't have to be the 'real' person whose looks copied by the doppelganger, and the time of death wasn't set in three days.

The stories were distorted and made into more deadly. In fact, all of the legends in the town ended up in death.

One of those stories was 'The Red Eyed Death-God', which Takane thought as the mixture of the legends of the Greeks Medusa and Japanese Satori.

The death-god in the story had many abilities, and he used them to kill his victim. He'd appear out of nowhere, charm his victim with his irresistible gaze and knowledge of the victim, until in the end he'd take the victim's soul, leaving only stone statues. The god's abilities include invisibility, illusion, charm or hypnotism, mind-reading, and petrification, and those were the only known ones based on what he do. They said the only way to identify him was to see his blood red eyes.

"… no… no way…"

What the girl just did and said, all fit the legend. That, and the fact that the red sparks Takane saw behind her bangs, which could came from her eyes.

Finally, she pinched herself. It was painful, so she deduced she wasn't dreaming. Realizing that made her laugh a bit hysterically.

Takane could feel something trickling down her cheeks, but it didn't last long.

She had seen a monster, there's no doubt about it. Takane was the type of person who believed her senses. Despite the abnormality, she accepted the girl's existence as the truth. She had felt all of her known powers firsthand after all. She wasn't sure about the petrification though. She did lose the ability to move her body for a while, but Takane couldn't be sure it was the girl's power. It could be from her fear.

"… Haruka has a thing for small things, so should I tell him this? I wonder if he's woken up…"

Even so, Takane for some reason couldn't bring herself to think about her long. Even though she knew her trembling hadn't been caused by anticipation anymore, she still couldn't forget about Haruka., and the last line she said made her mind flooded with questions regarding the boy's condition.

Has he arrived at the hospital yet?

Is there any complication?

When will he return home?

Perhaps it was defense mechanism to protect her mind. By thinking something else, she could kept herself from going crazy. Or collapsing. Haruka didn't have distraction and look how he ended up. In the end, Takane hurried back home to do what she had planned to do. By the time she arrived home, the meeting was already like a distant memory.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was an apprentice witch. She knew many kinds of magic, but sadly she could only cast some of them. Even so, she worked hard everyday so that she could become the best witch in the whole wide world.

One day, a madman announced that the world was ending. Although no one truly believed that, people still perplexed. How could someone announce something like that so confidently from the top of the castle? How did the madman enter in the first place?

'… that's quite good.'

As she tried to hack into the stations' system, Takane's mind formed a story that's likely to be understood by Haruka. Since he couldn't understand computer well, she had to make a good story. Of course the progress hadn't been good. Most of her thinking capability was used to deal with multiple windows that were opened on her screen. Although half-way through her mind went blank and she just went with her instinct, the story was left without an ending.

Inserting various codes… going into multiple servers…

When she realized it, Takane was already inside a company's system. She smiled triumphantly before stretching her sore body. Outside, the full moon was already up. Looking at the blood red orb brought chills down her spine.

The color resembled the sparks she saw that afternoon.

Even so, she couldn't believe not a day had passed since her meeting with the death-god.

'Though to be fair, I don't even know if she's really a death-god…'

There's no doubt that she's not human though.

Her body trembled, but the music from her headphone managed to calm her down enough to keep on hacking. Her mind had abandoned the thought of hacking hours ago, and honestly Takane couldn't answer how she managed that far.

That's why when she noticed the name of the company she had breached, she couldn't do anything but questioning herself.

"… hm? Eh? What's this… Why did I…"

Haruka's problem was primarily caused by a hacker, and Takane had sworn to stop him. That's why she tried to trace his tracks, and she wasn't ashamed in admitting that she hadn't succeeded. She still had no idea the route he used to broadcast the video. Initially she thought the only way to trace him was to hack into the same places he did, and those were the TV and radio stations' system.

That's why, she was perplexed when she found herself hacking into a medicinal company's system. The company owned a hospital in which Haruka was being admitted, but really other than that it had no other connection to Haruka.

"Wait wait, what was I thinking?! I mean, I don't remember even thinking of doing something useless like this!"

For one, even if she's worried of him, there would be no data of his condition. If she really wanted to know, it'd be easier and safer to just call one of her friends who visited. If there's none, then she could call the hospital directly.

Because of that…

Because it defied her principle to not do something unnecessary, she became curious.

She remembered hacking into it, but she couldn't understand why. There was some mention of the company in the stations record, something about it paying huge sum of money for secrecy of an outbreak, but that's it. She must have thought of something when she relied completely on her instincts but she couldn't find what it was.

She read the data on her screen, the words from the girl she met in the afternoon somehow kept on repeating on her mind.

'I_f you get too close to him he'll die. Actually, anyone who gets too close to him has chance to kill him. Poor children, I don't know there's so many of them like that. They're too young to die…_ '

"… out… break?"

And then suddenly, the death-god's words made sense.

Takane didn't know how she knew about the outbreak, she guessed instantly that it's from her mind-reading ability, but then no one should know about it yet. Her power must work in different way. There's a chance that she just thought of it because of the similarities of symptoms though.

Even so, if that's true, then the outbreak in question had to be in her town, and from her words she concluded that she got it too. Takane froze as the thought sank in. A lot of children from schools were absent because of summer cold, and she hadn't heard about any other disease in town. The outbreak must be connected to the cold.

But, the death-god said that Haruka would die if anyone gets too close to him.

In conclusion, many had been infected, and most didn't show any symptoms. Even if it showed, it resembled flu too much to be paid attention to. Perhaps even Takane herself was the one of those many carriers. Realizing that, she immediately changed her clothes and rushed to the hospital.

The name of the microorganism mentioned in the log was familiar, and so Takane knew the disease that may have infected the children even before she looked it up online. It's a very infectious disease that could cause death quickly. As precaution she took the gas mask she had, something she had forgotten where from.

Of all diseases, it had to be the one spread through airborne.

Suddenly, the thing about the hacker didn't seem to be important anymore.

The log said that the deal was made just hours before, so not many should know about it. Hell, perhaps most of the staffs in the hospital didn't know about it.

If she told anyone, would they believe her?

Takane doubted that. The idea of an outbreak was so unrealistic, especially for that type of disease in that day or age. It's been almost two decades since such outbreak was heard of. Besides the town Takane lived in was very well-maintained. It's very unlikely for such outbreak to appear, since according to media the places where it appear were almost always disaster stricken towns.

But, she believed the log she read. She had pinched herself many times before, and she still wouldn't wake up. It's not a dream. It's not a lie. What's written had to be true. Data she found from hacking had never been wrong before.

"… I want to be checked. Please."

The nurse gave her an odd look. It's rare for someone who seemed so healthy to be wanting to be checked. She gave her an odd look, mostly because of the gas mask she was wearing, but she didn't ask questions and simply wrote her name in the list of people scheduled to be examined that day. During her turn, she just ask the doctor to make a thorough examination of her and perform any lab test he could think of.

More money for the hospital, Takane was sure he thought of that. His smile was very unnerving.

People around her were mostly sick and waiting for test result like Takane. They couldn't speak much, and seemed so sick Takane was surprised they're not admitted yet. The healthy looking ones were protesting the nurses because even though the visiting time wasn't over yet, no one was allowed to visit the patients.

In other words, the hospital was already beginning to quarantine the sick. Since they're mostly rendered unconscious already, they couldn't protest. The relatives who brought them couldn't go home from worry too. Haruka was the same. Takane was dying to see him, to really make sure that he's okay. If she's really sick, she wouldn't mind just hearing from the nurse his condition. Truthfully, she had expected the worst.

"Eh, Kokonose… Haruka?"

Even so, the respond was still surprising.

He was never admitted.

No record of him entering the hospital that day.

"What do you mean I can't see her?! How come I don't know anything about this?!"

"I'm sorry sir, it's new instruction from the government…"

"What is wrong with my daughter?! Hey, tell me!"

The hospital was filled with angry panicked relatives. The security all tried their best to calm them, as the nurses and doctors were all busy attending to the sick who kept on coming. Even so, they were outnumbered. Takane was sure she even heard some security guards contemplating on calling the police for help. Seeing them like that made her realized that demanding where Haruka was wouldn't have any effect at all.

The hospital was in disarray. It was so chaotic, no one even gave Takane an odd look for wearing a gas mask, aside from the nurse and doctor who examined her earlier.

"Hm, this is better than I expected… Humans never ceased to amaze me. Normally a riot would not be weird at all, but they remained more or less civilized."

Somehow, when she heard the death-god's voice from next to her, Takane wasn't surprised. A chaotic place was something she had expected a death-god to visit. Once she realized the disease that's infecting the townspeople, Takane's mind also related the girl with one of legends from Europe. A woman in black would be seen during the outbreak, holding a broom or rake. The tools acted as code as to the villagers well-being, but the girl in black next to Takane didn't bring anything. Actually more than being a death-god, it's best to describe her as the personification of Death itself, since she never actually kill anyone. Her appearance only serve like an alarm to a danger that couldn't be avoided.

She didn't engage conversation with Takane, and simply watched the commotion with a smirk plastered on her round face. Her eyes were hidden behind her bangs, so Takane couldn't be sure if she noticed her or not. The lack of conversation was a bit relieving however.

"… Enomoto-san?"

A nurse called out her name, holding a folder that was surely filled with the results of Takane's tests. Takane was about to approach her when the girl next to her suddenly grabbed her hand. When she looked at her in surprise, she just shook her head and pressed her index finger to her lips, her hair slithered and the red sparks were visible once more.

And then, it was as if her mind turned blank.

"Enomoto-san? Enomoto-san?!"

When she came to, the girl wasn't holding her hand, but she was still there. The sensation was different with that afternoon, when she couldn't move her muscles. It's like the whole world fast forwarded, leaving her behind. Or to be exact, it's like the world skipped ahead. Like losing consciousness when blinking, she felt like there's a something missing in her memory. People whose position changed suddenly, as if they were warping, and sentences that didn't connect confused Takane, and she could only stare wide eyed at the girl in black for explanation. She didn't say anything though. She just pointed at the panicked nurse, and Takane turned to see her.

Even though not a minute should have passed, she seemed even more panicked than the ones protesting not far from her. Finally, she screamed at the security and ordered them to find Takane.

She couldn't see her, even though Takane wasn't even ten steps away from her.

"She's positive! She has to be found!"

Her words caused quite a stir. People demanded to know what she meant, while the nurse herself could only cover her mouth in regret. They started to ignore the guards and approached her.

"Hey, what do you mean? What is this Enomoto has?! Is it the same with our family?!"

Apparently the nurse wasn't supposed to let the information out. She stubbornly stayed quiet despite people's demands, with security trying to kept the people from harming her. In the end though, she didn't have to say anything. The TV screens that were showing random soap operas at the hospital were all suddenly blinked, and all people in hospital were surprised by the phenomena. They stopped what they were doing, and focused all of their attention to the TV screens. Takane was sure that at that moment, even the thought of the weird new policy had disappeared from their minds .

It was the time of hacking.

The hacker did it again.

Despite the fact that the facts 'the hacker strikes again' and 'the hospital suddenly enforce this unreasonable policy' didn't sound connected, they still listened as if he'd say something important. Takane noticed the girl's smile got wider as the image of the white haired boy became clear.

"… It's time."

Just as scheduled, that night the hacker managed to broadcast another video, but it was different that time. It wasn't the same recording. Haruka-look-alike's face was as emotionless as ever, but he shed tears as he asked the audience if they believed what he had said twice now.

The world, or to be more exact, the townspeople's world will end.

"…Will you believe me… if I tell you that you're all sick? Will you believe me if I tell you that you will be cut off from the rest of the world? Will you believe me if I tell you that you all will die soon?"

Once upon a time, there was a madman who announced that the world was ending from the top of the highest tower in a castle. When the tower's security was made stronger, he didn't go outside the castle and instead snooped around the area deemed less important to guard. His announcement was only a distraction.

He wasn't a madman at all. He's a very calculative man. He did it to find something, and before long, he found it.

No one knew if it mattered or not. The one thing he found couldn't be used to save anyone.

Silence then engulfed the world, and the only thing Takane could hear was random music from her headphones she's hearing to calm herself down. No one was able to move nor say anything from the surprise.

Takane had known, but hearing it first hand from someone else had weird impact. It's like when you accidentally see your bad score before it's announced. You'd doubt it despite knowing that it's probably the truth. When it's finally announced, there would usually be an empty sense of relief. Takane felt that.

_'Ah… so it's true… I, just like all these people… am dying…'_

Her feeling then was indescribable. Behind her mask, she was crying despite her silent laughter. Even so, suddenly the silence was broken by a loud scream that only Takane could hear.

"RUN!"

The one who ordered her to run wasn't the girl in black. She had disappeared before Takane realized it. But Takane didn't argue. She run outside the hospital with all her strength, despite the pain on her chest. People were still standing in silence, didn't know how to react to the new video being broadcast.

"Hurry, don't stop! You need to get to the hill quickly! There's not much time!"

The voice came from her headphone, which Takane wore to calm herself down since a long time ago. At first she didn't realize it, but after few minutes the constant urging made it clear as day.

It was her own voice.

Common sense made her think that she's hearing things because of the stress. Takane was used to letting her body move by instinct, and usually then her mind wouldn't be accessible. The words the hacker said had numbed her instinct however. How could she react in a situation she had never imagined before? At least during hacking she had knowledge of what to do, and what the goal was. The disease she had could only end in death, and as to what to do…

Her mind was telling her body to run, and so she did. But even as she ran, she couldn't help but to doubt everything.

"You realized what's going to happen right?! You need to get away from here!"

Even so, Takane lowered her pace.

What's the point?

Her words were unreasonable, but Takane was even more surprised she could realize that in the chaos. If she's really positive of the disease, wouldn't it be best to just surrender to the hospital and let herself be treated? There's nothing left to do. Even if she ran, she'd be dead in hours. Her existence had became nothing but a burden to the world.

Every breath she took had a chance to kill thousands of people.

To kill Haruka.

"No! You won't kill him! You _can't_ kill him! Listen to me! You want to see him again, right?! You can't surrender now! You'll just die in vain!"

The chances were that Haruka's not even in the town anymore. He's certainly not in the hospital. His symptoms, chest pain and short breaths, were too alarming. In literature, such symptoms could be related to pneumonia, and in this case is one of latest onset of the disease.

The chances were that he's already infected, and he's terminally ill.

The nurse at school could have known about this, and that's why she didn't allow anyone to come to hospital. The teacher who took him away could have known about it too. But then…

"… where was he taken to?"

"Yes, Konoha's missing! You have to find him! So, you need to hurry to the hill! There's no time, I'll explain later, but please! We only have twenty minutes at best!"

The townspeople all had their ending written. Takane wasn't sure if it'd become reality or not, but really she was expecting the worst. Everyone else were in a daze, but surely sometime soon they'll think the same thing as Takane. With the cat's out of the bag, the government would surely blockade the town to avoid further spreading of the disease. That's quite reasonable, Takane admitted, but the sickness the townspeople had were a bit weird. The onsets were too little. Some only had cold-like symptoms, while there others like Takane who seemed healthy despite being positive. When the sick and the healthy couldn't be separated, what would the government do?

Worst case scenario, the town would be obliterated.

If she had to go away, her best bet would be through the hill, where it'd lead to wilderness. Normally people wouldn't be allowed to go there, as there was where the legend of the 'Red-eyed Death God' came from, but for now going towards that creepy mysterious girl sounded way better than dying of respiratory disease without ever knowing what happened to Haruka.

And so, she ran… not knowing that it's futile to escape.


	5. Headphone Actor 3

**So this is the last of this arc. But not to be discouraged because that means I'll start on 'Ene's Cyber Journey'~**

**In which Takane is already became Ene. Ehehehe, thanks for the reviews, people. You're all too kind.**

* * *

In the old times, Black Death killed millions throughout Europe.

In Takane's town, the victims would also die, but with little to no symptoms at all. They all suddenly became weak and died just like that. From the cries of people she passed, Takane realized that some people in the hospital were already dead, and that's why the government wouldn't let their relatives see them.

But, it's too late.

The hacker had announce it, and the people had finally snapped out from their daze. The town was then engulfed in chaos, just like hell on earth. On the border, people in uniforms were all holding guns and threatening the townspeople who wanted to get out of town. Looking at their faces from afar, Takane was sure that they wouldn't hesitate to shoot.

They said that the government were developing medicine and vaccine to counter it, but Takane knew better. It's simply too late. No medicine could treat the sick then. Not because of the sickness itself, and the complications. Back then, the disease could kill in three days. The first time she heard of cold outbreak was days ago, so death of hundreds would not be weird.

How many had died?

When would her time be up?

"… come on. Let's hurry. It's useless to think about it."

Even her mind's voice, which sounded so strong before sounded weaker and less confident already. It's like she couldn't deny the fact that Takane's really going to die soon, and the fact that there's nothing she could do about it.

In a crossing, Takane saw a familiar crying face.

It was one of her juniors, the daughter of one of the teachers at school. She was holding her chest while leaning on the stop sign. If it's not for her screams, Takane would have thought that she was the same like Haruka. But, she's just having panic attack. Takane put on her mask and ran to her.

"Ayano, hey! Calm down! Breathe, breathe!"

Even after Takane shook her, she wouldn't stop screaming. Finally, she murmured sorry and slapped her. She stopped, her eyes widened from the shock and her hand slowly moved to her now reddish cheek.

"Have you calmed down yet? It's me."

Hearing her voice, she narrowed her eyes in confusion. Takane's voice was a bit muffled by the mask, but surely she could identify her through that alone. Actually, Takane was surprised she didn't return to her panic attack after seeing her wearing gas-mask.

"… Ta… kane-senpai?"

"Yeah. It's me. Sorry about the mask."

She scanned Takane's mask-covered face before crying once more. She snaked her hands to Takane's neck and pulled her close. From her headphones, nothing could be heard. Her mind approved of her actions, despite her urgings earlier.

"It's going to be okay. You don't seem to be sick… You'll be fine… This will pass…," Takane said as she rubbed her back to soothe her, but she shook her head.

"… dead…"

"Huh?"

"My mom… she's dead! She… she's been dead… for hours… I… didn't know… I thought it was just heatstroke… And… Dad… not here…"

She tried to say between her sobs.

Because of the hacker, the government had decided to keep the townspeople from knowing the situation. Although electricity was still working fine, so the hospital could still do its job in treating the sick. It's just that TV, radio, telephone and internet couldn't be used at all. Seconds after the broadcast end, the TV all could only show _suna arashi_. Someone must have told her about the deaths in hospital. Not all of the patients died, but there were still a lot of them. And the numbers were rising. The weak looking people who waited for their test results like Takane back then, they didn't look like they would have long time left. Takane understood why she broke down earlier. In that circumstances, any child would want to go to their family.

"… You know she's only going to be a burden, right?"

Even so, Takane couldn't left the girl alone.

"Ayano, I'm finding a way out of this town. Do you want to go with me? I can't promise you, but there's a chance of you meeting your dad sooner."

The girl blinked and looked up, tilting her head a bit in slight confusion. She seemed unsure, but in the end she nodded. The word 'dad' managed to keep her sane, as it turned out, although her eyes were still lifeless and dull.

"Okay. Now, you need to change. Our best bet is through the forest, and your clothes isn't suitable for it."

"O… okay… my house… is near…"

In the end, they went to Ayano's house. While she changed, Takane's mind raced. A lot of possibilities had appeared on where Haruka was, and Takane didn't like any of them. Haruka was like her, a child who lives alone because of some reasons. He's the type of person who would not be missed if missing. Sure, his friends would notice his disappearance, but it's very unlikely for them to report to the police.

If so, then…

"Senpai… I'm done."

Ayano's voice broke Takane's line of thought. The young girl was now wearing simple t-shirt and jeans with jacket. Takane nodded in approval. She noticed a muffler hanging on her hanger behind Ayano, and asked her to wear it.

"I know it's not comfortable, but try to breathe through it," she said as she tied the red fabric on her face. Ayano didn't argue.

Takane wished for her to be negative, and if possible she wanted her to stay that way. She wouldn't take off her mask. If her own breath could kill, then she wouldn't mind having that mask glued to her face. For safety measures though it's best to keep Ayano from breathing the air without filter.

"You've wasted enough time. Ten minutes."

The voice from her headphone urged her again. Takane took a deep breath and started walking away, Ayano just few steps behind her. She's not really athletic, but Takane herself didn't work out that much. Sometimes she'd help Haruka with his baseball practice, but most of Takane's time was spent in front of her computer. So, they had pretty much the same speed.

Ayano hesitated when they reached the hill though. The story of the death-god was probably made to keep children like her from venturing to the forest, despite the truth of it just as Takane realized earlier. Even so, Takane was sure Ayano would hesistate even if there's no such legend. The forest was quite dark even in broad daylight. At night, it seemed scarier than ever.

Thankfully, Ayano brought a flashlight with her.

"… Senpai, you don't think there'll be… animals here, right?"

Takane wasn't sure it was the best time to tell her that perhaps they had to worry more about a girl in black who's surely easy to miss in the dark forest even if she didn't use her ability to be invisible. In the end she just told her that there's been no record of animal attack, so she shouldn't be worried. In a way, that's the truth. The legend was after all about a monster.

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure if the monster girl was really a monster. When she met her, she didn't seem like she was the type of being who would cause harm. She seemed more like the type of being who would watch humans suffer and laugh at their harsh fate. In fact, didn't she (sort of) help Takane earlier in hospital? Why the nurse couldn't see Takane was most likely due to her power after all.

If the girl wasn't there…

Takane imagined herself laying on a bunk with numerous cables and tubes attached to her body. The doctors and nurses would be outside the room wearing special outfit that reminded Takane of astronaut, watching the screens that showed results of Takane's scanning. She'd be trapped there until she dies, and her mind would continue to torture her by making up numerous scenarios of Haruka's ending.

Not that she could stop her mind from doing that then, as she ran through the forest.

"This way though, you'll be able to get closure right? Haruka is an important existence for you after all, so not knowing what happen to him can be more painful than dying. If you fail in finding out, you'll at least be able to argue with him in after life that you have tried, and it's his own fault to begin with to be so weak. If you succeeds, then… you'll die peacefully, I guess…"

"Se-senpai, stop!"

Lost in her thought, Takane couldn't even hear Ayano and it resulted in her slamming right to the white wall in front of her. Ayano winced when she saw that.

"… why…"

"I'm sorry, Senpai… I should have stopped you…"

"That's not it!"

Why was there wall there in the forest?

It took a second for Ayano to understand her confusion.

If it was fence to prevent people from venturing in, Takane could understand that. She was glad she knew part of the fence that's broken from time earlier, or else she wouldn't have been able to enter. Her effort after getting through the hills would be for nothing. If it was a house, she'd be surprised but really she's been expecting it. The death-god had to live somewhere after all.

But, for a wall to be made in the middle of the forest was really unexpected.

Looking up, Takane thought that the wall was about ten feet tall. It was tall enough to keep anyone from climbing, but not enough to be seen from outside the dense forest. The sound of insects was loud, but it wasn't enough to hide the voices of people from the other side of the wall.

Takane scratched the wall with a jagged rock, and ran to the left. Ayano followed without asking anything, although she let out a yelp when Takane passed the gate leading to God-knows-what just like that. After running about five minutes, Takane stopped.

"… It's a circle."

The wall wasn't to separate the forest's regions. It's a first defense line for whatever it was inside.

"Senpai?"

"I'm sorry, Ayano, but I need to get inside."

"… eh? Didn't you say we're going to another town?"

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just that I have this feeling that whatever behind this wall has something to do with the outbreak…"

"Like I said, burden. Now what are you going to do with her?! She's a kid! You can't leave her here in the forest even if she's the one holding the flashlight. You know you don't have long to live! Soon you'll be too weak to move, like those people in hospital!"

For once, Takane wished her mind would keep on focusing on Haruka instead of her possible death scenario and making her worry about one more person.

Ayano was a child, but she's not that young. She tried to convince herself that she'd be safer outside, protected by the darkness. Looking up, with the barbed wire and stuffs, it seemed like a fortress. A fortress inside a dense forest. There could be nothing more suspicious than that. If it's her, Takane was sure she could stay hidden. But, Takane couldn't say the same about Ayano. During their time together, she noticed that despite having pretty much the same pace, Ayano was noisier than her. Broken twigs, leafs… Every step she took made noise. She just wasn't suited for infiltrating.

"So… I'm sorry, but do you mind waiting here?"

To Takane's surprise though Ayano didn't protest. It wasn't because of her lifelessness too. She stared at the wall for a whole minute before finally nodding and said that she agreed with Takane. She suspected Ayano was afraid of being alone at the moment and she felt bad about it, but Takane certainly appreciate the support. Ayano gave her a smile, and the older girl couldn't resist the urge to hug her.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"Hurry up and come back…"

"Yeah. I'll be real quick… If I don't return in half an hour, then that means I'm done. You know what that means right?"

She reluctantly nodded. Ayano had realized that Takane's mask wasn't for protecting herself from the disease. It was for Ayano's protection, so that she wouldn't get infected. There's something about the way Takane wouldn't even touch her despite being careful enough to clean out the way for her that told her that she just couldn't do it anymore even if it's the last thing she did.

* * *

Going inside without Ayano was surprisingly still not easy.

Takane's mind couldn't stop thinking about her, and blaming her for leaving her alone in the woods. She kept wondering if the monster girl would come and do something again, hopefully helpful to Ayano. She's been helpful to Takane, so if she really hoped the monster girl would help until the end.

_'Please... keep her safe...'_

Without realizing it, Takane's praying to her as if she's her god.

Putting her thoughts about Ayano and the monster girl aside, it really was a great fortress. Whatever it was inside the wall was meant to be well hidden. Not even the gates were visible at first. Takane had to find it by tapping the wall, listening to weird sound as she tried to evade the cameras that she knew were there to capture images of trespasser.

In the end, she decided that it was a stupid thing to do since even if she found the gate she wouldn't be able to enter through it anyway, and that she should just jump over the wall from a nearby tree.

Needless to say, it was a dangerous thing to do. Moreover she had no equipment to support her. Behind her mask she was frowning deeply, her mind ringing up all kinds of dangerous alarm that made her even more nervous.

"You're going to die. What are you doing?! Find another way!"

After a very long minute of deliberation, Takane decided to rebel against her own mind, no matter how crazy that sounded. After counting to three, she jumped with all her might.

It was a miracle she managed to jump over.

Another miracle was that she fell right to bushes, so besides few sore spots on her body, she's fine.

"Rash... too rash... idiot... you could have died!"

Takane really didn't need to be reminded that, but apparently her mind thought differently.

_'I'm going crazy... how can my mind and self think differently? Must be the disease...'_

No one was inside the wall, much to her relief. No one was there to realize her gasp and moan, and no one was there to kick her out of the fortress.

Or worse, but Takane would rather not think about it. Even her mind stayed quiet about that possible scenario.

Inside the small fortress was a small building. From the windows, Takane could see that the inside was like a laboratory. Even so, there was no one even inside of said laboratory. It was night time, so it's not really weird, though. But the fact that no one was there to even guard the laboratory?

"… suspicious, isn't it?"

The fortress existed for a reason. There should be people inside it, protecting whatever it was need protecting.

Takane slowly stood up, ignoring the aching pain from throughout her body and slowly walked towards the building. She had been sure that the fortress was the core of everything that happened in the town, so she needed to confirm it. She wanted to know what were being tested in the laboratory, and what's the connection between it and the town.

To Konoha.

_'We need to get in there... it's a good thing no one is here, but someone might come soon. You need to hurry!'_

Takane didn't need to be told.

Inside the building was countless clocks. Each moved with different pace. It made her stop and wonder what was the need for all that clocks, besides to mesmerize people. The rotation of the needles seemed like pulling Takane's consciousness away from her body. She turned her face immediately.

And gasped.

She couldn't move her body. More than the clocks, the sight of a young man inside a glass chamber filled with liquid surprised her more. He was tall and thin, with hair the color of snow. Tubes of different color were attached to his body, and Takane wondered what they did to him. Takane ignored all the buzzing sound of machines and computers she could use to investigate and walk closer to the young man inside the chamber, putting her palm on the glass when it's within reach.

Suddenly, he opened his closed eyes and look up to Takane, and she fell back from the surprise.

The realization then hit her hard.

White hair...

Red eyes...

Why didn't she realized it sooner?

"... Konoha?"

He was the splitting image of Konoha. Takane was sure that he's the person who appeared on TV and warned the townspeople even though he wasn't wearing the same clothes he wore back in the broadcasts.

"It can't be Konoha though. Remember, he appeared sooner than his disappearance. Pull yourself back together! Remember what we're here for! Remember about Ayano!"

Even so, Takane couldn't tore her eyes from the man's eyes.

It's like he was pleading for her help before his eyes closed once more as if he was returning to his deep sleep.

"Earth to Takane!"

With a gasp, Takane returned to reality.

_'But why could there be someone... with so much resemblance to Konoha? Don't you think it's strange?!'_

"I do, but just staring at him won't do any good! Start investigate! There're so many computers here. Do what you do best!"

Clicking her tongue, Takane reluctantly decided that her mind was right.

And so she started hacking into the computers, and once again her mind spun the tale she'd tell Haruka when and if she found him.

After the disappearance of her best friend, the apprentice witch went on a journey to escape the plague that attack the town and to find the disappeared best friend of hers. She met a friend halfway, but that friend was left behind before she entered the castle where she thought to be the reason of the outbreak in the first place. She didn't know if the castle was the castle where the madman announced the end of the world from, as she just knew it from hear say, but she was pretty sure the castle she entered was it.

It really was it.

Inside the empty castle, trapped in a water prison, she found the madman, with his face resembling her best friend so much she started to wonder if he was him. But he couldn't be. Her best friend disappeared after the madman's announcement. After that she started looking for the truth.

And what she found surprised her even more.

All was about time travel.

So sci-fi like, so unbelievable.

The disease itself seemed to be meant to be a way to test the theory, but the release plan was later on than the truth. So the outbreak was accidental. Apparently, the original plan was to be done when the machine was complete, but the machine hadn't been completed yet. And so...

They'd bomb the city to prevent more casualties...

When Takane was wondering who could have thought of such crazy idea...

"Are you done?"

The voice made Takane unable to move a muscle.

It belonged to someone she knew, but she didn't expect that voice to be heard in the laboratory.

"I didn't expect you to find this facility. The others have all run away from the disease, so it's just you and me. To think that a forgotten thing can led us to meet each other this way. No, to think that my forgotten thing is here in the first place. Well to call her my forgotten thing is a bit much, since I didn't forget about her in the slightest. I was just a bit busy to pick her up earlier, but that's no excuse."

"I didn't think she'd find her way here. Now I need to erase her memory. Do you know that it's hard to do? And unstable. Why must you bring her here, I wonder..."

"_Enomoto Takane?"_

Hearing her name being called confirmed her worst fear.

Something that Takane was surprised she didn't think off sooner.

"Sensei...?"

Tateyama Kenjirou, father of Tateyama Ayano.

The teacher who was supposed to bring Haruka to hospital.

Turning around and taking off her mask, Takane stared at him incredulously, her face pale and eyes wide. For once her mind didn't say a thing.

Kenjirou was wearing his white coat as usual, but his face was different. He didn't look like the fun teacher Takane knew at school.

"... what did you do to Ayano? How did you find her?"

"She's my daughter. What do you think I'd do?"

He pointed to a corner of the room, and there Ayano laid asleep. Clearly, it was his doing, because in Takane's opinion she wasn't in the condition to fell asleep, not with the reality that she was trapped in a town where outbreak occurs and that her mother just died.

"I'm bringing her to safety as soon as I finish dealing with you. As for how I found her, can't you guess? Electronic is your specialty, right? Surely you've heard of GPS."

"..."

He didn't seem like feeling guilty at all, considering his wife's death was his fault to begin with.

Which made him seem even more scary.

Realizing that, Takane took a step back, knocking various things on the table behind her which made the man sighed and shook his head.

"Now, what should I do with you, Enomoto?"

"Stay... stay away!"

"Or what? Enomoto, you're sick. I know this. I've heard of your predicament from the hospital. What could you possibly do? Even if I don't do anything, you'd die sooner or later."

"I'll... I'll... I'll break the glass chamber! I'll let the person inside out!"

Kenjirou sighed and shook his head once more before looking at Takane with pity on his eyes.

"And kill Kokonose? Well, I don't need him alive per se, but I imagine you would prefer him to be alive."

And with that, Takane lost the ability to say a word. She just stared at the white coated teacher of hers incredulously.

_'What... what is he saying?'_

_'Konoha... can't be...'_

Because, didn't her mind told her otherwise?

And why now that she's in trouble, it stopped saying anything?

"... I'm sorry, Takane."

And with that everything turned black.


	6. Ene's Cyber Travelogue

**I made this in a hurry, so there'll be much mistake, I'm sorry...**

**Thanks for reviewing. Next will be Man-made Enemy.**

* * *

"What's wrong, Enemi? Did you have a bad dream?"

Opening her eyes, Takane found herself inside an empty classroom with Haruka drawing pictures in front of her. He was smiling gently, and seemed so healthy unlike how Takane remembered him last, so stressed and sick. Seeing him like that made her sigh out of relief.

"Yeah. It's a very bad dream."

"I see. Want to talk about it?"

Takane smiled and started telling her story, of an apprentice witch's adventure to save her disappearing friend. Throughout the story, Haruka stayed quiet and kept on listening attentively. So very like him to do that, Takane thought as she closed her eyes and placed her head on her arms, still feeling a bit sleepy.

It was a scary dream.

"It's a very good story."

"Well, it's not very fun to be in the story though."

"True..."

He chuckled softly before asking a question that would shook Takane's very core.

"But Enemi, what if the story isn't over yet?"

Surprised, Takane opened her eyes once more, but the scenery had changed. She was in the laboratory, and in front of her was white haired Haruka inside a glass chamber. For some reason, the room smelled of formalin.

"... No... Ko... Konoha..."

She placed her hands on the glass, and started hyperventilating.

No, it couldn't be.

She couldn't be still dreaming!

Suddenly, the glass broke in million pieces along with the scenery and Takane was left alone in white space.

"I'm sorry, Takane..."

A voice rang out, and Takane realized it was her own voice. She touched her ears, and felt that her headphones were still in place. She then shut her eyes as she threw the headphones away. But the voice didn't go away. It wasn't from her headphones anymore.

"This was the only way, I'm sorry..."

And then the voice started explaining things that was confusing to Takane before. Everything including the things she didn't realize before, although some things stayed unclear.

She hadn't realized it then, but it's all true.

When she came to, Takane realized several important things.

The most important one was of course that she was already dead. Really, really dead. Body separated from soul and all that. Takane realized immediately, because she found it hard to keep her self intact. It's as if she'd disappear into nothingness if she couldn't keep herself together, in literal sense. Her world had ended, bombed to be exact by a group of scientists fearing the spread of plague, and she had moved on into a new one. In her new one, which was a world of codes like inside a computer program, she imagined if she hadn't had her regrets she'd disappear quickly. Her body, or rather her soul since she had died to begin with, couldn't stay intact unless she willed it to be.

The second most important thing was that she had failed in saving anyone. Not Ayano, not Haruka. But at least Ayano had been found by her father, whom she really wanted to see but turned out to be the bad guy, and at least Takane had found Haruka, who's being experimented upon by mysterious group of scientists from god knows where.

Which led to important thing number one. Since she regretted all that, a part of her cursed the world and like a vengeful ghost that refused to disappear.

Why did it have to happen to her of all people?

She found out she had been ill, and that her best friend had disappeared in one go, and found out the hideous truth seconds before she kicked the bucket. Worst part was that she had realized that nothing would have changed even if she had stayed in hospital. Haruka would still be experimented, Ayano would still be found thanks to GPS planted on her by her father, and Takane would die before she could do anything.

Just finding out the truth wasn't enough, she wanted to save Haruka. Takane just realized that now that she's dead.

She couldn't move on even if she tried.

She just couldn't.

She didn't want to go to another world yet, not when Haruka was still alive, even if she could. She had been with Haruka her whole life, and she simply couldn't think of a world without him. She couldn't wait for him, and had him lectured her on what she should had done to save him.

She couldn't forget his pleading gaze back at the laboratory. When he sees her in afterlife, surely he'd get mad at her for not saving him from the hands of the scientists. The events starting from the radio announcement by Haruka-look-alike kept on repeating on Takane's mind, and it made her angry with herself. It's enough that way. She didn't need him to get mad at her too.

All that happened had been confusing, to say the least.

The things the voice from her headphone said...

The things planned by the scientists...

The things the monster girl said...

And let's not forget her state.

Thank the gods that the voice didn't forget to explain things for her in her dreams. Even though it may be unreal, at least she had something to hold into.

Unlike a ghost, she wasn't in the physical world, but she was in the cyber world called the internet. She felt like she could affect the physical world through the machinery that has connection to the cyber world, but of course she could never be sure of it. She hadn't tried it after all.

Takane looked at her disappearing hands and thought about how silly it was. She was becoming a cyber girl like some chick in Haruka's manga. The reason why? Takane could only guess it's related to what the monster girl said about her wouldn't die from the disease.

By the way, her state was important thing number three.

After she found out about that, which was immediately after realizing that she had the hardest time keeping her legs intact, she tried to search for the laboratory in which Haruka was held captive inside the glass chamber. She remembered seeing lots of cameras inside, surely she could hack into it.

She raised her hands... and chanted the codes like spell.

It was as if she really became the witch in her story.

In no time at all, a window popped up showing the laboratory, with her teacher Kenjirou putting his hand on the glass chamber where the young man he claimed to be Haruka was. Surrounding him were many men in white coat. Looking at him, Takane growled.

It's all his fault. If he hadn't planned the stupid time machine thing, none of this would have happened.

Gritting her teeth, Takane chanted again. When she opened her eyes, the window had became larger and voices that could only belonged to the people inside it could be heard.

"... it's complete... finally..."

"Great, now we can finally go to the past."

"No."

"... no? What do you mean no? Then what are all our effort for?"

"Going to the past means that going to where the time machine hasn't been created yet. It's a one time thing. We've tested it ourselves, haven't we? The most the machine can do is to stop time, as to transfer things to the past... Only consciousness and computer data can be sent back."

They all nodded like it all made sense.

"Of course, we're going to keep trying until we can reach our goal. But still, the best we can do is try out this kid's capability as the time machine. After all, we did pick him up so no one among us can unfairly use the ability to travel time."

Anger bubbled up from within Takane.

She had heard it from the voice, but to hear it directly from the mouths of the scientists made her feel shaken up. Just for that reason they picked out her Konoha?

Kenjirou laughed, and his hand became a fist.

"Just a bit more... and our wish will be granted... Kokonose, no, that child called you Konoha, didn't she? I thank you."

There was silence for a second.

"By the way, what about the girl you found?"

"Ah... she died. Her time was up before she could do anything. Although, I found virus in our system that appeared about the same time as when she fell, but I doubt it's her doing, even though she's a genius in hacking. I took care of it though. Now it's on the internet. "

Looking at them and hearing them made Takane wanting revenge.

She wanted to save Haruka, the person she cared the most in the whole wide world, that took first priority of course, but somehow she wanted to make things bad for the scientists.

A thought came to her, and she did what she thought would make everything right again. She didn't know if it would work, but at least she thought it worth a shot.

She tried hacking into the time machine.

Closing her eyes, she then chanted again. As data, she went to the past, and re-enact what happened, this time as the third party responsible for hacking the TV and radio stations and also helping her past self.

In the end, she saw herself died and was left with no choice but to gave her clues as to what she was from what she knew from the conversation of the scientists. Something magical then happened. Takane found someone identical to her standing in front of her suddenly, and after she curiously touched it, she opened her clear blue eyes and she found herself disintegrating.

She was rather shocked, but she realized that after her whole body had disintegrated that she was still alive. Looking down, her body was still intact. It was rather hard to explain, but it was as if her consciousness merely transfer bodies. Confused at first, Takane finally dismissed it as the law of universe taking place, because there couldn't two persons that exist at the same time

Nothing changed however.

As the vicious cycle ended, what's left was only unmeasurable pain on her chest.

Drops of tear fell to from her eyes before turning into pixel squares which flew upwards to someplace unknown.

She knew it would always haunt her, the curiosity of what would happen if she didn't go back to her past, but it's too late to regret it. Even though something could have changed for the better.

But the chances of that happening, Takane realized, was admittedly small.

She imagined herself in the hospital, trapped and unable to do anything. Takane shuddered.

"... What now?"

Even though she had her priority straight, she still didn't know what to do.

In any case, she needed a someone to help her. She realized that since she had died and lost her body, it's impossible to do anything concrete.

In conclusion, she was useless.

Despite her resolution, she wasn't able to do anything.

Takane closed her eyes, and thought.

She needed help, that much was obvious, but how could she get someone to help her?

After thinking for quite a long time, she decided it's useless to stay and it's better to look for a suitable person first.

And then, her travel in the world of codes begun.

* * *

At first, she was having fun.

There were numerous windows opened, each displaying something different. She realized right away that they're what people around the world was seeing. Blue compasses and foxes engulfed in flames were all circling near most of the windows, and Takane couldn't help but to feel a bit amused.

Some of the windows showed humans faces, and she concluded it's because they had their webcam on, so it's visible from her side. She laughed at some of the people who made funny faces, and for a while she had her fun.

Not for long, however.

Soon, she realized the scariness of the world.

She didn't know where to go, what to do, and there was no one she could ask for. The world was so confusing, that Takane was glad she was a tech geek. If she couldn't read the codes, she'd had gone crazy by then. No, to tell the truth even with her ability, she was losing her mind already.

The thought of giving up appeared numerous times in her mind, but for some reason that was beyond even her, she persisted.

_'Scary... I'm scared... Konoha... help me...'_

She begged him, even though she knew that the boy could do nothing to help her.

How long had passed since the day at the laboratory, Takane had no idea.

When she realized it, she was already crying. Even though she kept on refusing to give up, the stress was getting into her. Her body had disintegrated, and what was left of her body was only her head and part of her trunk. Her fear had made it hard for her to concentrate, and as a result she couldn't keep herself intact.

Realizing that, she tried to concentrate once more, but it was difficult and she failed to do so.

It made her even more scared.

_'Will I disappear just like this? Without able to do anything?'_

_'… I don't want to... I want to see Konoha again... I want to save him... What should I do...'_

_'If he dies, then... it'd be my fault...'_

"It's my fault she died..."

Suddenly a voice echoed. It was that of a boy, and Takane averted her gaze to the source of sound.

It was a boy about her age, his eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. He was chatting with people, and Takane wondered what made her unable to tear her eyes away from the boy.

Was it his eyes, which were doubtlessly similar to Takane's?

"... I promised I'd help her. And yet I only drove her to her end... It's my fault..."

Words from unknown people floated towards the window the boy opened, and the boy shook his head as respond to their reply.

"No one."

He said.

Takane floated towards the window and tried to read the backwards words, trying to know what people were asking to him. With difficulty she could finally read it.

_'Who told you so?'_

In respond to his answer, many reply came, the last being, _'Hm... I don't quite understand, but are you prepared?'_

The boy nodded.

He held a scissors in one hand, and smiled.

"I've been holding it in for two years... I can't do it anymore..."

With that the window was painted red with blood, shocking Takane to the core.

In her daze, she looked at the chat log, and was astounded.

The boy was chatting with people from a suicide site.

Takane then wondered if the boy was similar to her. From the conversation, he apparently had lost someone important to him. He said he'd helped her, but in the end she died anyway. He had failed.

Perhaps because they're similar, Takane found the boy interesting.

_'If I were still alive... would I do what he did because I lost Konoha?'_

She asked herself.

Takane could imagine herself committing suicide, but to see someone doing it for real made her doubt herself. She wondered if the boy would do it over and over again if he could relive the moment. Perhaps so. He seemed dead already, and so it's just a matter of time. If only he could change the past, he'd probably had done it.

And then, Takane realized.

She was different from the boy.

She was given chance to try to change the past, but she gave up only after one trial. And she didn't even try to change what happened either. No wonder nothing changed.

_'…!'_

Realizing that made her found hope, and her body reformed at rapid state as her mood became better.

But alas, it was too late.

She tried to come back to the laboratory, but the system had been changed. It was set so that sending anything to the past before the completion of the machine would be impossible. Despaired, Takane tried to find a loophole in the system somewhere, but she couldn't find it anywhere she looked.

It's no longer possible to access that past.

It's no longer possible to change _her_ past.

Even so, for some reason...

"... at least... let me repay him who made me realize... It's really my own fault for not trying... At least... that boy!"

_'I'm sorry, Konoha... I'll definitely save you... But first, I have some debt to pay.'_

She chanted, and sent herself back the furthest she could. After she arrived, she quickly looked for the despaired boy.

When she found him, he was still alive. He was looking at pictures of anime with blank eyes.

Relieved, Takane then wondered how to get to him.

In the end she sent herself into his mail account, hoping that he'd accept her. Much to her relief, he did.

"How do you do, Master~ Please treat me well from now on."

His blank eyes gained life the moment he saw her smiling face, and after a very long second, he screamed.

"Wha... what is this?! What kind of virus is this?!"

"How rude! Don't call me virus! My name is Enemi!"

She replied with a huff.

"... you... you can respond? You're not a virus?"

"Well, you can say I'm a cyber girl."

That was how Ene met Kisaragi Shintaro, and why she chose him to be her master. Of course, the fact that he'd lead her to meet Konoha later in the future was unexpected, but it's another story to tell.


	7. Man-made Enemy

**At first, she bothered him by trying to stop him from committing suicide. After a while though, she decided to just be plain annoying.**

**It worked.**

**Besides Jinzou Enemy, this is also based on Route xx in Lost Time Memory.**

**Next is Kisaragi Attention**

* * *

It all started one day in a summer day. The sun was setting already, and for some reason no one was around in a hill except for a young boy who was walking home from school.

Shintaro knew he was being followed, but he didn't say anything.

He knew who was following him.

Only when his hand was grabbed that he groaned and shook her off.

"Leave me alone!"

"... I won't."

The girl said as she took his hand once more. Shintaro however merely shook her off once more and ran away from the hill, leaving the girl behind.

It was a necessity.

He had to do it.

He kept on running despite the tears from his eyes.

He knew he was still being followed.

He didn't want to run away from her, the girl he loved with all his heart, but he was afraid.

How could he not?

The girl who was supposed to be dead kept on following him with her awkward broken bloody appearance. Her broken limbs made it hard for her to follow, but Shintaro knew that the girl was dragging her broken feet and after him.

"No... no... NO... This is just my hallucination... She can't be real... I know..."

"I know... And yet... Why? Why can't I stop seeing her?!"

The boy kept on running in fear, and became even more confused with every step he took.

When he reached home, he found haven in his room. Even though he could still hear her voice calling him, she couldn't enter for some reason. He realized that, and decided that until she went away, he'd never leave.

Only, she never left.

New questions then appeared one day on his mind.

Why did he have to run away from her?

Wasn't she the person he loved? Didn't he wish to stay with her forever?

Even though she might not be real, why must he rejected her?

The revelation shocked him, as he couldn't answer those questions. The voice of the girl then echoed, "Let's play, Shintaro," she said.

But despite his revelation, Shintaro couldn't answer her and accept her.

He was even more afraid of his inconsistent ugly self. He didn't dare to meet up with her, embrace her bloodied figure, and let her accompany him for the rest of his life. In the end, he only cowered and begged for her forgiveness from his room.

Months had passed since that day in the hill when he got that mail.

A self proclaimed cyber girl who could do nothing but bother him was in it, and he regretted opening that mail every second since.

How many times had he tried erasing her, Shintaro had lost count, but she'd always appear again whenever he went online. Finally he gave up trying and decided to ignore her, only deleting her when she's deemed too noisy or annoying to his liking.

He fiddled with a scissors like usual as he browsed. Doing that calmed him a bit.

Seeing him made the cyber girl, Ene, worried though.

"Master, you're making me worry..."

Shintaro had realized long ago what she was always trying to do.

Even so, he couldn't bring himself to accept her intention.

He glared at her before deleting her. It only took a second for Ene to appear again however, but she didn't say anything and kept quiet.

And then the day continued just like always.

Just like always, the 18 year old boy spent the day at his room, only stepping out to eat and go to the toilet, and never once since that day two years ago he never set his foot outside the house. It worried his family greatly, but apparently there was nothing they could do about it.

Shintaro was simply too afraid to went outside.

It's not like he hadn't tried.

It's just that every time he stood at the genkan, he'd always sweat bullets and shed tears.

She's there, he'd say.

She's following me.

She wants me to go with her.

I can't do it.

It's my fault.

When he was broken down like that, no one could blame him.

His mother decided that it's best that he took a rest for the time being from school, but no matter how long she waited, that time when Shintaro calmed down and forget about the girl never came. In the end, he became an useless shut in who was nothing but a burden to the family.

When he realized it, two years had passed.

The season was summer, but in his air conditioned room it was ice cold.

Perhaps it was due to the temperature that Shintaro spent most of his day sleeping.

In his dream, he was back to the days of his junior high school.

The girl he walked away from was still there, smiling happily. She looked so different than she was on that day on the hill, and Shintaro found comfort in it despite knowing that it's only a dream.

Alas, as a human he had to wake up sooner or later.

"_... shall we say our good bye now?"_

When he woke up, the first thing he heard was Ene's voice.

"... Can you even tell that the day has changed?" she asked.

Shintaro didn't care for a bit. For a shut in like him, things like day changing was a silly thing not worth mentioning.

"Master, you were sleeptalking again. It's that girl again, wasn't it? Master, you can't be like this. You have to move on."

"Shut up," he said monotonously. Ene raised her hands and kept quiet after hearing that, seemingly defeated. Shintaro had always been worse after waking up, as if the world was hell to him.

Nothing was different that day.

As usual, he spent the rest of his day by browsing the net while fiddling with his scissors.

Most of the time though he'd chat with people online.

The online him was cheerful and different from his real self, and reading his log made Ene wondered.

Why did he bother doing that?

She knew the boy only wished to live in his dreams, and it was pointless to spend his day uselessly by chatting with people he didn't know. He had said it once that he liked the online community, but Ene couldn't believe him. After all, he said it with blank face devoid of emotion.

Truth was, he hated connecting with people.

Even if the people on the other side truly loved him, their love wasn't mutual.

Then what's the point?

"... I don't understand you. "

She used to love games, and online community, but Takane never faked her own personality. Faking wasn't in her nature. That's why she was always happy with her friends both online and offline, although admittedly she was the happiest with Haruka.

From the corner of the screen, she watched the boy worriedly as he once again accessed suicide site. Even though she was against it, she couldn't do anything but watch him smiling sadly as she'd surely be deleted if she dared to say anything.

It was only a matter of time.

"I'm tired of you already..."

"... Eh?"

Shintaro suddenly said with blank eyes.

"You've been nothing but a bother. Always complaining... always criticizing... always questioning... Even though you understand nothing."

"... Master?"

"Even though you're just a fancy toy..."

"Master! You're scaring me! I understand! It's hard..."

Before she could finish her sentence, it happened though, and the cyber girl could only watch in horror.

"... Why... what went wrong this time?"

How many times had it been?

Takane tried to remember, but she couldn't.

Yet again, what was in front of her was the dead body of Kisaragi Shintaro.

Just like how she first saw him, he had stabbed his throat with a scissors, making the screen red from the blood splatter.

It was gruesome, and yet, Takane couldn't feel anything this time.

It's because it had happened countless time already, that she had grown numb.

Just like always she'd just turn back, head back to the laboratory, and hack into the time machine again.

This time was also the same.

"Idiot Master..."

In the world of codes, Takane wondered if she's doing things wrongly again.

She had tried everything to help the shut in, but so far nothing worked.

In the end, he still died.

She was getting tired, and it made her wonder if she wouldn't save the boy. Just like she wasn't able to save Ayano and Haruka. The realization made her cry.

She's useless.

No matter what she did, she never managed to do anything.

She re-read Shintaro's chat log to learn about what could be wrong with what she's doing, and that's when she realized it. Shintaro's words were touching, and brought spirit to whoever read them. Even though what he said were mostly annoying, and very blunt, it could always be replied with laughter.

Even though the one who wrote it couldn't laugh at all.

She noticed he never tried to understand, and just give out a way to everything. He never asked for details. The reason it's always replied with laughter was because his ways were so ridiculously silly, it worked. Like in the chat, there was someone who asked what to do in a fight, and without asking anything Shintaro only answered with one word.

Run.

He wasn't like the others who asked what kind of fight it was, or who was involved.

The replies were mostly laughter, but many agreed with him. Yes, for your safety, just run away!

There were other instances, but the pattern would always be the same.

_'… If I do this...'_

It was then that she decided to change herself.

"How do you do, Master~"

That time, with blank eyes, Shintaro looked at her confusedly. His reaction was different than the first time she greeted him.

In this repetition, Kisaragi Shintaro was even more lifeless.

"... where did you come from?"

He asked.

It was a surprise.

He had never asked her that before. Usually he just tried his best ignoring her. With a smile, she responded with 'I don't know?'. She had decided that the matter of her past and understanding didn't matter after all. Hearing that, the boy merely tilted his head to the side, seemingly confused.

"Don't bother with it! In any case, I'm Enemi, a cyber girl! From now on, I'll be in your care. Let's have fun together, Master~"

And then Kisaragi Shintaro's hellish days begun.

Everyday, he was waken up with a siren originally meant for god knows what. At first, he'd just sat up and stared at the wall, waiting for Ene to stop the siren herself. Even when his mother came and got mad at him for being noisy, he merely look at her in the eye and said the word sorry monotonously.

His face probably scared the hell out of her, because she usually just went away without saying anything.

After a while however, his emotion started to resurface.

He started to get angry, and when his mother got mad at him he started to look flustered.

Ene was sure his mother was happy with the progress.

It's just a first step, Ene reminded herself. She had to bring out his emotions more, and made him as normal as possible. No more Miss Nice Girl, she thought. Giving him advices and questioning his doings resulted in nothing after all. Normal person starts his day in the morning, so she thought it's appropriate to get him wake up like a normal person as first step.

It was also to partly to wake him up before his dream could reach the part when the girl he loved bid farewell.

Shintaro must still remember that girl whose death he claimed to be his fault, and every night in his dream, Ene heard him begging her not to go. After he woke up, he'd usually access the suicide sites while fiddling his scissors.

He always seemed the happiest when he's accessing those sites, and it was not normal.

Definitely not.

Even so, Ene didn't dare to outright block the sites for him. He's still too unstable. Even though it was surely easier, doing so would only make him mad and delete her. And then her effort would be useless.

For this, she decided there's nothing she could do but to distract him. In the end, she did it by giving him stuff she knew he'd like.

"Master, lookie here! I got you one of those software that can produce music that you like. How about giving it a try?"

At first he ignored it. But deep down, he's really an otaku who couldn't help but to get curious at such thing. After being pestered by Ene for days, he finally gave in and installed the program. Seeing him smiled when the program produced sound, albeit it was faint, it was still a smile nonetheless, made Ene proud.

_'He's starting to show interest in something. That's good.'_

"See, you can upload your work here later, Master. Lets make great music and impress the world!"

He didn't respond. He was too busy trying out the program.

_Clang..._

The sound of something falling surprised Ene, but Shintaro didn't seem to care about it.

Looking at his hands, none of them were holding into scissors, and for once Ene was glad he was ignoring something.

But Ene didn't stop there.

She kept on feeding him information about what he liked, and slowly his interest turned into addiction.

Slowly... the depressed boy changed.

Slowly but surely, Shintaro started be even more expressive.

When he chatted with his online friends, he started to laugh for real. It's so different than before, when he could only write pretty words and not feel anything from it. Ene was glad to hear him complain more about her (teasing brought out his emotions well), to see him looking serious as he worked on his music, and to notice that the sleep-talk was getting less often.

Ene wanted to believe that it means she had succeeded.

When before he lived his days doing things aimlessly, he started to make goals, even though they were trivial like he had to watch namahousou in this hour, or he had to finish his song by this date. He also stopped going to suicide sites.

Even though now he could be considered a closet otaku, at least his will to live was still there and only got stronger by each passing day.

_'Great... it seems I'm in the right track...'_

It took a long year, but Ene made it.

The lifeless boy she met seemed more lively, and the chances of him committing suicide looking at his condition now was rather slim.

It's like her job was almost over.

But Ene didn't want to take risks.

Shintaro couldn't be left alone just yet.

From her past experiences dealing with him, she realized something. She realized that Shintaro was psychotic, and the current Shintaro was the same. Not psychotic crazy, but really psychotic in medical terms. He heard and saw something that's not there. Sometimes he'd averted his gaze towards the outside window as if someone had called him from outside. His face then would be pale from horror.

"... No... No... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Master, calm down!"

Sometimes he'd be so horrified, he'd curl into a ball crying.

Ene had realized that he was still being haunted by the girl he supposedly killed. Even so, for some reason, he found comfort in spending time in his dreams with her, always begging her not to go in the end. And so, Ene concluded there were two entities of the girl, one who'd always try to get Shintaro to die, and one who wanted him to move on.

Both however, were the source of his stress.

One would always haunt him, asking him to join her in after life, while the other would always say that she's leaving him.

"... Calm down, Master... You're fine. There's no one there, see?"

Even Ene knew that the only consolation line she could give would hurt him. She knew that deep inside the boy didn't want to be left behind by the girl, and he always secretly prayed that her death was nothing but a cruel prank.

Ene would always play a soothing music to calm him, but the effect was minimum.

During his attacks, Shintaro was the most fragile and unstable. In the past, he's most often committed suicide after hearing the girl's voice. Even though he had heard her less compared to the previous repetitions, he still worried Ene greatly.

But there's nothing she could do about it.

For Shintaro to stop hearing and seeing things, he had no choice but to face his fear.

There's no other way.

He had to go outside.

"Little Sister, I need your help!"

Ene said suddenly one day to Kisaragi Momo, Shintaro's sister. Needless to say, she responded by screaming as loud as she could.

Personally though, Ene thought that her respond was more appropriate than Shintaro's response. There were times when he responded normally like Momo, however most of the time he'd be too lifeless to even be surprised.

"Wha... what... what is this?!"

"Hey, don't call me _this_! My name is Enemi. I'm a cyber girl!"

The girl stared at Ene for few long seconds before she slapped herself. Ene unconsciously touched her own cheeks, wincing a bit as if she could feel Momo's pain.

"... I'm not dreaming."

"Little Sister, I'm real. Please at least believe that part."

Ene wondered how Shintaro could accepted her so easily. It must be a miracle.

"Anyway, Little Sister, I need your help. It's about Master Shintaro!"

Hearing the name of her brother mentioned made Momo move closer to the computer screen.

"Brother?! What's wrong with Brother?"

At first, Ene couldn't say a word.

Seeing the girl up close surprised her.

Red eyes stared into blue, and they reminded Ene of her past. To be exact, they reminded her of the monster girl who helped her years ago. Her red eyes turned orange in an instant however.

_'… what was that?'_

In the mean time, she dismissed it as light effect.

"Uh... Nothing! It's just that I want him to go out for his own good, but I can't do it alone, so I need your help, Little Sister. He's been making a lot of progress lately, hasn't he?"

Momo could definitely tell. Shintaro had been sleeping less, and during dinner she could see him looking almost like how he used to. Even though there was a time when he seemed to have lost all his emotions, the brother she knew and love was resurfacing.

"... What should I do?"

The cyber girl then grinned mischievously.


End file.
